A Hyuuga, a Nara and a Haruno go to Hogwarts
by Zaraki Hariko
Summary: Harry Potter disappeared from the wizarding world as a baby. Now known as Nara Shikamaru, watch as Konoha's laziest ninja and his two team mates head to Hogwarts to learn to control their magic. Manipulative!Dumbledore, Shika!isHarry, mentions of violence and mature situations, two main character OC's that are hopefully not gary-stu's, Poll for couples is on my profile page
1. Chapter 1: The Beginning

Okay, so I was up at three this morning and decided it was time to start something new. I'm going to say this now, that this story has two OC's. The first OC is Hyuuga Hariko, who's Hyuuga Hinata's twin brother. He looks like a male version of her. There were some pictures on Deviant art that I found by looking for genderbent Naruto girls. The other is Haruno Sakuno, who I've based off of a Genderbent Sakura that I saw, only I gave him blue eyes. I'm bad at describing characters, so you'll have to imagine what they look like. I also made Sakura the same age as Hyuuga Hanabi to explain why Sakuno is in the class without making him her twin or cousin.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. If I did, Hinata would be a confidant boy that's in love with Gaara, and Harry Potter would have been raised as a ninja or something else that makes him awesome. I'm just playing with the worlds of JKR and Kishimoto.

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EDIT NOTE: To clear up a question someone asked, Hariko is NOT Neji and is NOT Hinata. **_Hariko is an Original Character_**, and is supposed to be Hinata's twin brother. On the same note, Sakura has been turned into an eight year old, thus not a major part of this story.**_ Sakuno is an Original Character _**I created to take her place, because I find Sakura annoying and useless until Shippuden. Sakuno is Sakura's older brother, so he has pink hair like she does except he has blue eyes instead of green and his hair is ear length. I hope this makes things more understandable

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Three boys and their female sensei stand in the Hokage's office in front of the elderly man. Standing off to the side is another old man, though one that looks a little off in the head, so to speak. He wears a robe similar to the Hokage's, only his is bright blue with little golden stars on it that the boys could swear are twinkling despite the fact that the sky is overcast and the lighting in the room rather poor, so there's not enough light to make them twinkle in such a way.

"_You called, Hokage-sama?_" the boys sensei, Anko, asks.

"_Yes, it seems that one of your boys is actually adopted through a forbidden jutsu, Anko-san. This man here knew his birth parents, who paid for seven years tuition at a boarding school that they attended._"

The boy standing in the middle yawns. He has dark hair in a spikey ponytail and a laid back posture. Intelligence shines in his eyes, masked by a lazy expression. "_So?_" he asks. "_I've known I was adopted since day one. Okaa-san and Otou-san never hid it from me or the rest of the adult clan members_"

The Hokage raises an eyebrow. "_You knew?_"

"_Hai. Okaa-san may be troublesome, but she always makes sure that I know she loves me. She's troublesome __**because**__ she loves me._"

The Hokage smiles. "_Indeed. Well, Shikamaru-kun, Dumbledore-san here is the headmaster of the school, and would like to invite you to attend so you can control an ability unique to your birth family_"

Shikamaru eyes the man warily. "_What of my team? I refuse to leave them behind_"

"_I doubt they have the ability that you do, my boy_" The unknown old man says.

Shikamaru's two teammates glare at the man, each putting a hand on one of Shikamaru's shoulders. "_Either we go as well or Shika stays put_" the pink haired boy growls.

"_We're a team. If you dare to split us up...heh, don't be surprised if you quickly find yourself in the afterlife after a heart attack_" The third boy, who has pale eyes that are lacking a pupil.

"_I would respect their wishes and test them, Dumbledore-san. These Gennin are stronger than the Aurors of your people_" The Hokage chuckles.

As it turns out, both of the boys have the same ability as Shikamaru does, which they're informed is magic. Over the next week, things are organised so their attending this magic school is classified as a long-term B-rank mission. Within two weeks of the initial meeting, they're in England with a scarred looking man that has sandy brown hair and golden eyes. His name is Lupin Remus, or as it's said in English, Remus Lupin. After a nifty spell and potion combination, they were able to speak and write English fluently. Remembering which language they're speaking takes a little effort, though.

Anko is taken to the school ahead of time by a magic item called a portkey. The three Gennin are told to take the Hogwarts Express, which Remus takes them to. On the train, the Gennin settle into a compartment. Just as the whistle goes, signaling that the train is pulling out of the station, a red haired boy peeks his head in.

"Can I sit with you? Everywhere else is full"

Hariko snorts, his face hidden behind a fourth year Ancient Runes book. "I got back from a walk down the train not even five minutes ago." He says in English. "There's plenty of room further down, you're just to lazy to go any further"

Sakuno sets down his own book, glancing at the redhead with cold blue eyes. "Go find somewhere else to sit. We don't like liars"

This is a lie itself, but they don't want to deal with the redhead. They saw him in Diagon Alley when they were getting their school supplies with Remus. He was bragging to his sister about how he would become Harry Potter's best friend like Dumbledore said and would get rid of 'those bloody freaks he insists on being with'. Dumbledore seems to think he can control Shikamaru. Shikamaru doesn't want people to know he used to be their savior, before his blood adoption got rid of his scar and turned him into a Nara instead of a Potter. The redhead storms out of the compartment.

When the redhead is gone, Hariko looks to Shika. "You might want to verbally renounce your ties to your birth family. If you don't do it, people can still find you and tests will show you as Harry Potter"

Shikamaru nods.

With the renouncing of his birth name, Shikamaru now only has one real identity. Before, he had two official names which were interchangeable, but now he's just Shikamaru Nara. Things such as the list of Hogwarts Students to be sorted, which is magically updated in case they die on their way to school (thanks to many wars and rough times since the schools founding), will show 'Shikamaru Nara' instead of 'Harry Potter'. Since he doesn't have that stupid lightning bolt scar and nothing, not even heritage potions, will show him as anything other than Shikamaru, he doesn't have to worry about Dumbledore insisting he's the boy who lived. He can take truth serum and state with full confidence that he's Shikamaru Nara and no one else. Though he'd have to be careful. If someone asked if he ever was Harry Potter, he'd have to answer yes.

The train ride is silent, except for a snooty looking blond searching the train for Harry Potter. When they arrive at Hogwarts, the three students get into a boat together, along with a bushy haired brunet girl who's muttering spells under her breath. The trip across the Black Lake gets gasps of awe out of most of the students.

"Aren't you impressed?" the girl in their boat asks when the ninja don't join in the appreciative murmurs spreading through the first years.

"Hmm, It's impressive, but not as impressive as some of the buildings back home" Sakuno says. "ANBU headquarters is much more interesting"

"You're just saying that because Morino-san is your idol" Hariko smirks at the pink haired boy.

"So? At least Morino-sama knows how to fight! These British wizards just wave a wand to do everything for them. They're lazy! Over fed and under exercised, I say" Sakuno retorts, crossing his arms with a small pout.

"Will you two stop bickering?" Shikamaru yawns.

"Sorry, Shika" the other two Gennin say together.

The first years are led by a large man into the castle and to a stern looking witch. The woman introduces herself as professor McGonagall and gives them a small talk about the four Hogwarts houses. When she leaves, Hariko and Sakuno exchange small grins.

"Shika is so going to be in Ravenclaw!" Hariko says.

"You sure? He's pretty lazy, not very interested in learning" Sakuno says, glancing at Shikamaru, who's seemingly napping while standing up.

"Positive. Shika may be lazy but when he finds motivation, there's nothing to stop him." Pale eyes glance around, unnerving many of the other first years.

Professor McGonagall returns and asks them to get into a neat row before heading into the Great Hall. The Hall doors open, and quite a few students gasp at the enchanted ceiling. The bushy haired girl the ninja shared a boat with whispers to the shy boy next to her about how the ceiling came to be spelled that way. Murmurs from the already seated older students and the staff members reach the first years. Some of them commenting on Sakuno's hair colour and coming up with wild theories for why it's pink. Sakuno scowls.

"It's not my fault I was born with pink hair" he mutters.

Hariko pats his friend on the back to comfort him. The sorting commences after the Sorting Hat sings a song.

'Abbot, Hannah' is sorted into Hufflepuff house.

'Bones, Susan' joins her.

'Cornfoot, Stephen' goes into Ravenclaw house, right after 'Boot, Terry'.

'Granger, Hermione', the puffy haired brunet girl from the boat, becomes the first to go to Gryffindor house.

"Haruno, Sakuno" Sakuno steps forward to be sorted.

The Sorting Hat takes a few minutes to deliberate before deciding on the perfect house.

"RAVENCLAW!"

"Hyuuga, Hariko" Hariko gracefully sits on the stool.

Again, the hat takes a few minutes before deciding on a house for the ninja.

"RAVENCLAW!"

'Malfoy, Draco', the snooty looking blond who was looking for 'Harry Potter' on the train, is sorted right into Slytherin house.

"Nara, Shikamaru" McGonagall calls out from the list.

Shikamaru heads up, plopping himself carelessly on the three legged stool. The sorting hat sits on his head for over five minutes, trying to find a house for him. The students start whispering again, though this time about why it's taking so long to sort Shikamaru.

"RAVENCLAW!" the Hat eventually calls out.

Shikamaru joins Hariko and Sakuno at the Ravenclaw table, where his new house mates welcome him as they did his friends earlier. Many of the students at the Ravenclaw table have textbooks and essays out, apparently intending to finish or go over their work before classes start in the morning. Shika just flops his head onto his folded arms and goes to sleep. This action seems to offend the older Ravenclaws.

"Don't mind Shikamaru" Hariko says quietly as the sorting continues. "He may be lazy, but he's got a genius IQ."

This seems to appease the Ravenclaws. The sorting goes on, until the call of 'Potter, Harry' goes unanswered. McGonagall is soon forced to continue on with the list. Once 'Zabini, Blaise' is sorted into Slytherin, Dumbledore says a few seemingly nonsense words before the tables are suddenly filled with food and the feast begins.

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I hope those of you who read this liked it, and if not, there's a little X button in the corner for a reason. If you didn't like it, then please, no flames. Reviews that say why you did or didn't like it in polite terms are always welcome. I may continue this as a multi-chapter fanfic if enough people want me to continue. I find the idea of a lazy boy savior quite entertaining. Also, could any reviewers tell me how they found the way this was laid out? Someone in one of my other fics said my usual style was a little hard to understand so I tried to make it clearer and I'd like feedback. I'm still pretty new to this! Thanks a bunch!


	2. Chapter 2: The First Day of School

I got a few good reviews, so I thought I would write up the second chapter while I had the time and motivation! As usual, I sadly own nothing except the OC's and the plot...what little plot there is. I really have no idea where I'm taking this, so ideas are welcome!

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Having Mitarashi Anko as a sensei has it's ups and downs. An up is other ninja don't underestimate the team, because most of the other Konoha ninja are at least highly wary of the woman. A down is she likes to get up at insane hours of the morning for team training.

"It's too early" Shikamaru grumbles as he, Hariko and Sakuno move down the stairs from Ravenclaw tower.

"For once, I agree" Hariko says.

Sakuno just laughs at Hariko and Shikamaru. "It's only three in the morning! It's not that early"

Sakuno, ever the morning person, bounces along happily next to his tired friends. The three Gennin sneak through the castle and outside, nearly getting caught once due to being half asleep. Thankfully, the Potions Professor didn't think to look up. If he did, he would have found three Gennin crouching on the ceiling, waiting for him to turn the corner.

"Morning, Maggots!" Anko exclaims as she appears in a puff of smoke.

"Morning, sensei" The Gennin reply as one.

The woman starts their morning training session with dodging practice to wake them up. Anko throws volleys of kunai at the Gennin, causing the eleven year olds to snap to attention and start moving or risk getting hurt. Afterwards, they move on to some spars and practicing new battle strategies. By six in the morning, the Gennin are exhausted and ready for showers. They're caked in dirt and blood. Even the best of Gennin can't avoid Anko's attack-training all the time. Considering their house mates aren't likely to be up for another hour, they take the time to have long showers before heading down for an early breakfast.

"_Which class do you think we'll have first?_" Sakuno asks in Japanese as they head down the tower for the second time that morning.

"_Haven't a clue_" Hariko replies as he attempts to straighten Shika's crooked uniform tie as they walk.

There's only a handful of people in the great hall this early in the morning. Most of the staff members are there, but many of the students would rather sleep until they absolutely have to get up. Shikamaru yawns as he takes a seat at the Ravenclaw table, uncaring that he took one of three seats in the middle of a group of sixth years. Hariko and Sakuno take the other two.

The head of Ravenclaw House is the Charms professor, Professor Flitwick. The man is incredibly tiny and appears to be part Goblin. He walks over as quickly as he can with his tiny legs and hands the three first years their timetables.

"Thank you, Professor" Hariko says for the three of them.

The man smiles.

"Quite welcome, Mr. Hyuuga!" He squeaks before heading off to give timetables to some other Ravenclaw students.

"We have Defence Against the Dark Arts first" Shikamaru says, looking over the timetable he was handed.

"Didn't that older girl say it's with the Professor in the purple turban?" Sakuno leans forward so he can look past the Nara at the staff table.

Hariko thinks for a moment.

"I think so" the pale eyed ninja says. "Quirrell, was it?"

"Yeah" Shikamaru answers. "Rumor has it he used to teach Muggle studies before he took the DADA post. He was on sabbatical last year, according to a third year"

After breakfast, the Gennin return to Ravenclaw tower for their textbooks before heading to the second floor for Defence Against the Dark Arts. The classroom is Class 31, in the north hallway on the left hand side. Ravenclaw house shares their classes with Hufflepuff house, so the yellow and black clad students join them closer to the time class is supposed to start.

Shikamaru lazes against a wall, while Hariko and Sakuno play catch with a knife from Sakuno's potions kit by catching it by the flat edge of the blade and throwing it by the handle. They have potions after lunch, and don't want to waste some of their lunch time going back to the tower for their supplies. The three of them have bags that are spelled to be feather-light and have endless space. It's quite useful, even if they could seal all their belongings into scrolls.

As the rest of the school will soon find out, Quirrell is a complete joke as a teacher. His stuttering prevents most of the class from fully understanding him. The ninja are fine with the way the man speaks, as Anko trained them to ignore speech impediments as well as tell when the impediment is fake. Quirrell has a fake stutter, and this causes the Gennin to be suspicious of him. After all, what reason would a professor have to fake a speech impediment?

During lunch, after having eaten a quick meal, the three first years head to the library to speak with Anko in moderate privacy. Finding a secluded corner without any paintings, the Gennin settle into some chairs to wait for their sensei. She arrives a few minutes after them.

"_Well? Report_" She says in Japanese.

"_Aside from learning that our housemates being obsessed with gaining knowledge, we've found out that the DADA professor is to be watched_" Hariko says.

Anko glowers a little. "_Explain_"

"_He's faking a stutter, sensei_" Sakuno says. "_In fact, he's pretending to be scared of his own shadow. The rumors around the school say he met a vampire while on sabbatical last year, but we think it's just a front to cover something up._"

Anko nods.

"_Makes sense_" The woman says, leaning against a book case. "_After all, who would suspect someone of doing something illegal or dangerous if they're terrified of their own shadow and apparently a stuttering mess?_"

"_Our thoughts exactly_" Shikamaru replies.

"_Anyways, we don't know what he could be up to, so we need to keep an eye on him without attracting attention_" Hariko says as he plucks a random book off a shelf next to him.

It's a book on possession. Deciding it's not worth his time, the Hyuuga slips it back onto the shelf.

"_Anything interesting going on with the staff, sensei?_" Shikamaru asks.

"_Nothing that worth mentioning. The Headmaster is a bit angry that you went up at your supposed 'fake' name instead of your birth name, but I just told him to go screw himself. You haven't been known by that name since you were a baby and as far as he knows, you refuse to start now. He keeps trying to insist that you need to be known as 'Harry Potter' instead of Shikamaru_"

Shikamaru sighs.

"_If he keeps insisting on me going by Harry Potter, I might have to charge him with harassment or something. As far as the wizards are concerned, I can no longer go by that name._" He says.

Lunch is soon over, causing the Gennin to head to Potions class. They have some trouble finding it, but the Ravenclaw house Ghost is willing to point the way. Thanks to the Gray Lady, they're actually a few minutes early to class

The professor, Professor Snape, opens the classroom door from within and beckons the students into the classroom.

"Enter" The dour looking Potions Master orders.

The students, having heard the rumors about him, are quick to comply. Once everyone is seated, Professor Snape walks to the front of the classroom, his robes billowing dramatically.

"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class. As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion-making. However, for those select few...Who possess, the predisposition...I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I can tell you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death" He pauses for effect, eyes darting across the students faces.

The man goes through roll, taking a look at each student as they reply to their name. He seems to be committing their faces to memory.

"Hariko Hyuuga" Snape looks up at the students.

"Present" Hariko answers, raising a hand slightly.

"Hyuuga, what are you doing in this class? I can see that you're blind!" Snape says sternly.

"I'm afraid that I see perfectly fine, Professor Snape. Did the headmaster not inform you? My eyes are a trait shared by my whole family. In fact, we're known in Japan for our excellent eyesight. Often, people say it's like we have three hundred and sixty degrees of vision instead of regular vision" Hariko replies calmly.

Sakuno nods in agreement.

"Been caught sneaking into the Hyuuga compound too many times to count because of those eyes" he mutters.

Shikamaru glances at Sakuno.

"Sakuno" Shika whispers.

"Sorry" Sakuno replies, equally as quiet.

"If your eyesight is so good, Mr. Hyuuga, then you wouldn't mind stepping up to the front here and reading the instructions on the board, would you?" Snape sneers.

Hariko just smiles. "I wouldn't mind at all, Professor" He says.

Hariko easily recites the instructions and ingredient list for a Boil Cure potion, which the students quickly copy down at Snape's demand that they take notes. Hariko is soon allowed to return to his station, where he goes about brewing the potion as the instructions list. Snape patrols his classroom, looming over anyone he thinks isn't focusing purely on their potion. He insults and berates the first years, taking points for the smallest of things. He's not as scary as Anko though, so Shikamaru, Hariko and Sakuno don't end up ruining their potions thanks to him. Some Hufflepuff's aren't as fortunate.

Sakuno leads the way to dinner after class. He's in such a good mood he's practically skipping. Snape grudgingly gave him five points for a perfect potion, and he was the only one in the class to get points off the man.

Dinner passes by uneventfully. After dinner, the Gennin are off to train with Anko outside again. They return to their common room just before curfew. Like that morning, they're covered in dirt and blood. The only difference is this time, there are students in the common room to see them before they clean up.

"What happened to you three?" A fifth year Prefect asks.

"We had things to do" Shikamaru mutters.

"What Mr. Lazy means is we had martial arts training with Anko-sensei. She's the purple haired woman that's been sneaking around" Hariko clarifies.

"Martial arts training? Why are you covered in blood then?" The prefect asks.

"That would be due to the daggers Anko-sensei threw at us" Sakuno pipes up.

Shikamaru slips off to go shower.

"Daggers?" the prefect looks alarmed.

"Yes. It's a tradition for those from the clans to learn how to use things like daggers and swords." Hariko says. "It's part of our training to become the Clan Heads"

They just won't mention that Sakuno comes from a civilian family. No one needs to know that.

Sakuno nudges his dark haired friend. "Come on, let's hit the showers. I have mud in uncomfortable places"

Hariko laughs and follows his friend to the first year boys dorms, then the shower room.

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Did you like it? Reviews are nice! Also, If anyone has ideas on where to possibly take this, or friends they should make or pairings for when they're older, I'd appreciate it. I'm posting this as I write, so I'll probably be maybe one or two chapters ahead of what's posted at the most. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3: Of Halloween and Libraries

Two days. Three Chapters. I think I'm on a roll here. As usual, I own nothing. I wish I did, but alas I don't. I could have posted this scarily early in the morning, but I decided it was better to wait until I had slept for a while and had breakfast. And several large mugs of coffee.

Again, suggestions for future friendships or pairings are welcome, though I refuse to write a harem fanfic. Those bother me. Anyone that has a partner will have only one partner. They may teasingly flirt with others, but they'll be faithful to their partner. Also, what do you all think of Ginny? I'm no huge fan of hers, mostly since I don't think Harry could possibly love someone who looks nearly exactly like the mother he saw murdered. I'm going through first year faster than I had originally planned, and soon it will be second year, which I have no plan for yet. If enough people like Ginny, I won't turn her into some harridan that's obsessed with marrying the BWL and will, instead, do something else with her. Okay, enough of me talking. Onto the third chapter!

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Shikamaru sits down at the Ravenclaw table Tuesday morning with a sigh. He tosses a newspaper onto the table before pulling a platter piled high with sausages towards him.

"What's that?" Hariko asks, taking a seat across from the shadow user.

"Todays Daily Prophet" Shikamaru replies. "I decided to get a subscription. Never know what might be news worthy"

Sakuno rolls his eyes. "You're just paranoid, Shika" He says.

"Rather paranoid than unprepared" Shikamaru retorts.

"Shika's got a point, Sakuno" Hariko says as he grabs a piece of toast off a platter that a fourth year is floating past him. "It's better to know the news as soon as it comes out than to only find out when everyone is talking about it at breakfast."

Sakuno shrugs. "I guess."

Hariko pulls his timetable out of his bag and looks it over for a little while.

"History of Magic first" He says. "Then we have Charms"

"I heard that the History professor is a ghost that puts everyone to sleep!" Sakuno laughs.

"Good" Shikamaru mutters. "Nap time"

History proves to be just as Shikamaru hoped. The professor is so boring and dry that most of the class is asleep within the first few minutes. Shikamaru is the first one to start sleeping, Sakuno right behind him. Even the ever studious Ravenclaw's aren't immune to Professor Binns and his droning monotone voice. Only Hariko and one other Ravenclaw stay fully awake. A single Hufflepuff dozes in a corner, not quite asleep but not quite awake.

Lunch passes in much the same way as the day before, only this time Dumbledore manages to waylay them on their way to the Library.

"Harry, my boy!"

Shikamaru and his teammates keep walking.

"Harry, I'm talking to you!" Dumbledore says sternly.

Sakuno glares at the man.

"There's no one here by that name, Headmaster" he says coldly. "So if you would allow us to continue on, it would be appreciated. We have studying to do"

Hariko snorts as Sakuno hurries to catch up with Shikamaru, who's now further down the hall by now.

"You can't call him by that name anymore, Professor" the Hyuuga heir says. "He's renounced his past name through the Old Magicks. He is, legally and magically, only Shikamaru Nara."

Hariko smirks at the surprised old man.

"You're not as smart as people say, if you thought we wouldn't research all that could be done to him by keeping his former name. No, our Shikamaru is a genius for a reason. For every way you could even think of to possibly control him, Shikamaru can come up with at least fifty ways to counter it. Sakuno and I aren't exactly dull wits either, and could probably add another twenty ways between the two of us to counter your move. You, Headmaster, are nothing to us but the school headmaster and the one paying us to protect the school." Hariko turns away from the old man and starts jogging to catch up with his friends.

They quickly report to Anko in their little corner of the library before heading off to Charms class. It's taught by their head of house, and they don't want to be late. The class itself is spent going over the theory for today, introducing them to charms and the wand movement for the first charm they'll learn, which they'll continue to learn on Thursday.

After the class ends for the day, the Gennin head outside to study in the fresh air. They have a full day tomorrow, and want to get a head start on everything. Shikamaru reads through the first few chapters of his Herbology and Astronomy books once, having already read through his potions book, before just settling down against a tree and falling asleep.

Sakuno and Hariko, on the other hand, have to go over the work together a few times before they too can relax until dinner.

Wednesday brings with it dark clouds and signs of rain.

"Maybe Astronomy will be cancelled" Shikamaru says at breakfast.

"We can only hope" Sakuno agrees, spooning hash browns onto his plate.

Astronomy is indeed cancelled, stargazing is rather difficult to do in the rain even with magic.

Slowly, time passes. Days turn to weeks, and before the Gennin know it, It's October thirty first. The anniversary of Shikamaru's birth parents deaths. As he does every year, Shikamaru offers up some offerings to a small shrine he's made. It's a way of honoring the dead. If he knew where they were buried, he would put the offerings on their graves. The three Gennin all wear black armbands to signify a day of mourning. Sakuno and Hariko think of Shikamaru as a brother, and would never allow him to mourn alone.

"What's with the armbands?" A Ravenclaw second year girl asks at breakfast on Halloween.

"They signify a day of mourning in Japan. Students and workers who have to wear a uniform wear the band instead of black funeral wear." Sakuno replies.

"Shika lost two people very important to him on this day several years ago" Hariko adds, since the Nara is mourning in silence. "We're Shika's best friends, so we've chosen to mourn with him even though we never knew the people"

Several people ask the same question throughout the day, and Sakuno and Hariko answer for Shika, who's staying as silent as he can outside of training and class. It's not like he talks much anyways. He finds it too troublesome to talk without a good reason.

It's dinner time that things become interesting. Professor Quirrell runs into the Great Hall, screaming about a troll loose in the Dungeons. But Quirrell doesn't have a reason to go to the Dungeons, so how would he know it's there? Perhaps Anko knows why he was down there.

The Gennin easily sneak away from their housemates in the resulting confusion. When the Professor's find the troll, they find Hermione Granger cowering under a bathroom sink with a dead troll just a few feet from her. Sakuno used a Genjutsu to make her think the troll suddenly just started spraying blood and died, instead of Hariko and Shikamaru killing it like they did. The Gennin are in Ravenclaw tower before the professors even think of looking for what could have killed the troll.

Soon, the Quidditch season begins. Even Ravenclaw gets into the spirit of the game. All of them except the Gennin. They would rather focus on why Anko found a giant three headed dog in the Forbidden Corridor after some of her spy-snake summons went in there and almost got eaten. Ever the Ravenclaws, the Gennin search through the Library for answers on a Saturday.

Hariko drops a book on the table he and his friends are studying at. The title reads 'Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them'.

"_It's a Cerberus_" He says.

Sakuno looks up from a book on a canine animal called the Grimm.

"_How do you know?_" The pink haired boy asks.

Hariko motions to the book he dropped onto the table.

"_It's all in there. The Cerberus was standing on a trapdoor according to Anko-sensei, and Cerberus are basically guard dogs. There's obviously something past that door that it's guarding_" Hariko replies.

Shikamaru flips open the book and reads through the page on the Cerberus.

"_Hari's probably right_" Shika says. "_If that dog is there, he's likely guarding something. The question is…what is he guarding?_"

Hariko takes a seat next to Shikamaru.

"_It's impossible to know without clues, which we don't have. It seems about time we did some spying practice_" the Hyuuga runs the fingers of his right hand through his hair, his left hand flicking through a book Shikamaru picked out.

"_I wonder…how can we get the clues we need?_" Sakuno asks.

"_Hariko, what about your Byakuugan?_" Shikamaru asks. "_Could you look through the floor or something?_"

Hariko frowns. "_I'm not sure. I haven't tried to activate it yet. I'm rather worried about what I'll see. We've found that magic looks like Chakra and this is a magic castle_"

Shikamaru leans back in his chair, stretching so his spine makes a popping sound. Sakuno sighs and starts collecting the books they used. Once all neatly stacked, Sakuno wanders off to return the books to the shelves.

Sakuno sees the groundskeeper, Hagrid, looking around for books on dragon raising. That should be interesting to investigate. Pretending he never saw the books the man was awkwardly holding, the pink haired boy returns to his friends.

"_Even if we don't know where to start, I know something else interesting to investigate_" Sakuno says as he takes a seat.

Shikamaru raises an eyebrow.

"_What sort of thing were you thinking of investigating?_" The former boy-who-lived asks.

"_I saw that groundskeeper, Hagrid, searching for books on dragon raising. It's illegal to own dragons here, and even more illegal to sell dragon eggs or give them away. We should look into what Hagrid's doing and make sure it won't negatively affect the school._" Sakuno replies.

"_If he's actually raising a dragon, we should break it out and send it to safety._" Hariko suggests. "_The other day, I over heard the youngest Weasley boy talking about his older brother Charlie being a dragon keeper in Romania. It's worth a try_"

Shikamaru nods in agreement.

"_So long as we don't get caught, and I can make up the sleep later, then it's not too troublesome_" Shika says.

Hariko rolls his pale eyes.

"_You're so lazy, Shikamaru_" He says.

"_What else could you expect?_" Sakuno chuckles. "_He's a Nara. All Nara's are lazy_"

"_If it weren't so troublesome, I'd be offended by that on behalf of Okaa-san. She's far from lazy_" Shika grumbles.

"_True, but Yoshino-san is only half Nara herself, so she just takes after her non-Nara parent._" Hariko points out. "_And we're off topic. We should talk to Anko-sensei about the dragon issue and see what she knows_"

Anko proves to be a dead end. She doesn't know anything about dragons, let alone the possibility of a baby dragon being in Hagrid's hut. Her snakes have no information either.

So the boys plan an outing to the general area of Hagrid's hut, hoping to see what's going on in it without making it look too suspicious. If people think they're having an outdoor study session with a picnic before the weather gets too cold, then they won't think anything of the Ravenclaws being out there.

"We'll go out tomorrow" Shikamaru finally says, making the switch to English that usually signifies the end of their 'ninja discussions' as Sakuno calls them.

"It's going to be a lovely day apparently, so studying outside before it gets cold will be nice" Sakuno agrees.

Hariko's stomach rumbles.

"It's about time for dinner, isn't it? We should get going. Our talk about study session picnics has me hungry."

Sakuno and Shikamaru snicker.

* * *

That's it for the third chapter. I won't always update so quickly, but all the nice reviews have me inspired! I actually have no idea where half these ideas come from or any idea that I have them until I write them down, so this is an interesting experience. This is the first time I haven't written the whole story up before I posted it. It's fun, and I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I'm enjoying writing it!

See you in the next chapter!

~Zaraki Hariko


	4. Chapter 4: Christmas

Here's the fourth chapter. As usual, I own nothing but wish I did.

I have a response to two guest reviews at the end of the chapter, so if you left a guest review, you might want to check there.

Also, at this moment I'm suffering from my seasonal allergies and a terrible migraine, so I apologize if this chapter sucks. If you think it needs to be rewritten, I can easily do that when I feel better so long as someone reviews or PM's me to tell me that it needs work. I also doubt I'll ever be satisfied with any confrontations, since I suck at writing them. I hope you like it and if not, well...I'll do better next time. Thanks for reading!

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The next day dawns bright and early for the three ninja Ravenclaws. As usual, they spend the morning training with Anko. After showering and getting into their uniforms, they head to the great hall. Sakuno and Hariko pack up some food from the tables to take onto the grounds, while Shikamaru is left carrying their school bags.

A very light covering of mist floats over the Hogwarts grounds, but not enough to deter determined Ravenclaws or prevent people from seeing things. The mist will clear up as the day progresses.

"This looks like a good spot" Shikamaru says, dropping the school bags on to the grass next to a tree.

The Gennin sit down and get comfortable. The plan is to eat and study for a while and once anyone watching gets tired of watching them do nothing unusual, Hariko will test out his Byakuugan. There's less magic out on the grounds than inside, so if the magic does indeed prove painful to look at through the Hyuuga Doujutsu, it wouldn't be as bad as looking around with it inside the castle. If that doesn't work, one of them will sneak off to look in through the window.

An hour after settling down, Hariko activates his Byakuugan. It takes a few seconds to orient himself and make sense of what he's seeing, but once he does, he raises an eyebrow.

"_Well, the dragon theory seems to be right. There's a large egg-shaped object sitting in his fireplace._" Hariko says.

"_That so?_" Shikamaru hums, laying back on the grass to watch the clouds.

"_It's either a dragon's egg or a phoenix, and considering how rare phoenix eggs are rumored to be…well a dragon egg is more likely._" Hariko sighs.

"_Why would Hagrid have a dragon?_" Sakuno asks.

The pink haired boy pulls his Astronomy book over, the Defence Against the Dark Arts book he was reading is left to the side.

"_I don't know, but Hagrid is in there cooing over the egg. By the size of the dog that's in there with him, he has a thing for large and potentially dangerous animals_" Hariko replies.

"_How are we going to get the dragon out of there? We'll probably have to wait until it hatches. We wouldn't want it to hatch half-way to Romania_" Shikamaru points out.

"_An operation like this is usually done at night, but Hagrid's hut is only one room and he could easily see or hear us…_" Hariko lays back like Shikamaru, deactivating his Byakuugan as he goes.

Sakuno shoves his book into Shikamaru's face.

"_This is it! It says here that giants are truly vulnerable to one thing! Alcohol! Hagrid is huge, he has to be at least half giant. The alcohol would keep him out cold for hours once he's drunk enough. It says here that once a giant passes out from being drunk, they're nearly impossible to wake for several hours. If we can get some kind of drink into his hut, we can get that dragon out of there once he's out cold!_" Sakuno says excitedly.

"_Or, we could just get Anko-sensei to give us some of her knockout gas and use that on him once he's asleep._" Shikamaru retorts, thrusting the book back into Sakuno's arms.

"_If he's really half giant, though, he'll probably need at least a double or triple dose of the knockout gas_" Hariko points out.

"_Then we give him a double or triple dose, it's not that difficult a plan. Toss it in through the window and wait for it to take effect. Besides, are we or are we not ninja? One of the ninja mottos is 'silent as a shadow' for a reason_" Shika folds his hands behind his head as he watches the clouds.

The Gennin are silent for a while, just relaxing in the tranquility of the crisp fall air. To any onlookers, they would think the three Ravenclaws are just taking a break after solving a difficult equation or question from one of the many textbooks spread around them.

Sakuno starts to read a book on healing that he bought by owl order.

Hariko flicks his wand from side to side, practicing a wand movement from the Charms textbook.

Shikamaru, having fallen asleep, snores softly.

The ninja watch Hagrid's dragon egg closely. It hatches a week later. Having gotten into contact with Charlie Weasley already, they know he's in the area for the next three days and send a letter to him right away about the dragon having hatched. The day after it's hatched, the three ninja kidnap the dragon and sneak it up to the tallest tower of Hogwarts, where Charlie picks it up with the help of some co-workers.

Soon enough, the Christmas Holidays arrive.

The ninja don't expect any gifts, as Christmas is a western celebration that hasn't made it to the ninja-populated Elemental Countries yet. They also told their housemates that they don't celebrate it due to not having heard of it before. It's not that easy to get to the Elemental Countries, and even more difficult to bring new holidays. The ninja world is steeped in tradition. The Hyuuga clan has their traditions, the Nara clan has ones unique to them. They would never accept a holiday like Christmas without a very hard and very long fight. A whole new generation would have to be introduced to it while they were young, if people wanted the holiday to get off the ground.

Anko steps up their training over the holidays, and thwarts even more attempts by Dumbledore to get Shikamaru to become his pawn.

The first years that have stayed for the holidays help Professor Flitwick spell ornaments and decorations onto Christmas trees in the great hall, except the ninja. They hole themselves away in their little corner of the library, discussing what it could be that's hidden beyond the Cerberus and the trap door it guards.

"_I hate to say this_" Shikamaru says. "_But it seems like we're just going to have to go through the trap door and find out. Hariko's Byakuugan has trouble seeing past magic, because it looks bright yellow and hurts his eyes, so the only other choice is to go and find whatever is being guarded_"

Hariko sighs. "_You're right, Shika. I can use my Byakuugan on the grounds because there's less magic out there, but inside the school is painful. We have no clues and it's not like we can just ask the Headmaster. Then again, according to the older students there's never been anything like the forbidden corridor within the school. At least that he hasn't given them a reason for. This may just be a plot of the old man's_"

"_We have no choice. It's find that object or whatever it is so we can find out if it's a threat to the students, or ignore it and possibly have someone get killed because of it_" Sakuno points out.

"_After the holidays_" Shikamaru says. "_Suspects are easy to find when there's a small group of people around, but with the rest of the school here they wouldn't be able to tell who stole it. Assuming we actually steal it, of course._"

The day after Christmas, Dumbledore corners Shikamaru alone while he's exiting the bathroom during lunch.

Shikamaru sighs.

"Why are you so insistent that I become your savior?" Shikamaru asks, a peculiar expression on his face.

He looks like he's trying to solve a difficult puzzle.

"Now, my boy!" Dumbledore smiles and his eyes twinkle. "I'm not trying-"

"But you are, Headmaster" Shikamaru interrupts. "For some reason, you seem desperate to insist that I'm Harry Potter. For some reason, you think that without Harry Potter, all your little schemes and plans will be ruined."

He shoves his hands in his pockets, eyes darting around the hallway for anyone that could be listening in. Fining no one, he glares at the Headmaster slightly.

"I refuse to be your tool" Shikamaru states. "You hired my friends and I to protect this school, not play politics. Renouncing my birth name means I'm no longer held by any magics that were tied to it. Monitoring spells, family magics, blood and prophecies. None of them have any affect on a person who has renounced the name they're tied to. Thanks to the adoption by the Nara clan, I no longer hold any Potter blood. The only blood relations I have now are the other Nara's. None of my children will be Potters, none of my grandchildren will be Potter's. I can't perform any Potter family magics, and I can't claim the Potter vaults or inheritance. Look for a savior somewhere else. I just plan to finish this mission, then find somewhere nice to watch the clouds and sleep."

They may be on a mission to protect the castle and it's students, but that doesn't mean they need to stay if they're in over their heads. At the first sign of the mission being too much for them, they're to head back to Konoha and abandon the mission. The Hokage made that very clear before they left. He also gave them a privately funded mission on behalf of the village. Their information on wizards needs updating and the Gennin are in the perfect place to get it.

Shikamaru may be lazy, but he knows when to book out of an area as fast as possible. Shikamaru admits that one thing he's really good at is running away. And so, he's down the corridor and off to find his friends before Dumbledore can even think of retorting or casting a spell at him.

Shikamaru finds Hariko and Sakuno in the hallway outside the library.

"_What took you so long?_" Sakuno asks, slipping a kunai he was tossing around into his sleeve.

"_Dumbledore caught me outside the bathroom_" the lazy ninja replies.

"_What are we going to do about him? Anko-sensei says he's getting more forceful in his attempts to corner you. She can't hold him off forever_" Hariko points out as the three of them head into the library.

The librarian woman smiles rather eerily at them. She's odd, but she likes the three Ravenclaws who seem so eager to learn. She's even snuck them a few of the milder books from the Restricted Section because she's got a real soft spot for Hariko.

After waiving a greeting to the woman, the Gennin head over to their section of the Library.

"_So what are we going to do, Shika?_" Hariko repeats.

"_We just need to hold off until classes let out for summer. As soon as they do, we can make a move since our mission will be finished and he won't be our client anymore. Otou-san's helping me get things ready, but we just need to hold the goat off until the end of the year. I'll write to Otou-san and get him to buy some of the Aburame forgetfulness powder if needed. The stuff doesn't make you forget permanently, but it should hold him off for a few days at a time. The only problem is it can be lethal if more than one dose is used. We would have to wait at least a weak or two after the effects wear off before using it again. It needs enough time to get out of his system_" Shika explains.

His friends nod in understanding.

Shikamaru is a genius, which is why the other two defer to him for plans of action usually. It's only when one of the other two have more experience in an area that they're the ones to come up with the plan.

Anko appears from around a bookshelf.

"_Okay, Maggots! Outside so I can train your asses into the ground! It's boxing day after all!_" She cackles evilly.

Shikamaru groans. "_Sensei, you don't actually box on boxing day!_" He protests.

"_We do now!_" the purple haired T&I expert drags her students outside for a hellish day of 'see how many pointy things you can dodge while being chased by snakes the height of the average full grown Inuzuka Ninja dog'. Those dogs can grow to the size of a black bear, so it's best to run from and dodge any snake attacks when they're that big.

That night, the Gennin return to their dorm covered in sweat and blood. It doesn't usually snow in Konoha, so they had trouble getting around in the snow, which reached mid-shin on them. After showers, Shikamaru settles down to get a Potions essay over with. Hariko works on an assignment for Charms while Sakuno pokes a plant he Owl ordered from a shop a Gryffindor named Neville Longbottom recommended. All in all, they're in for a long night. Anko wants their holiday homework done by lunch tomorrow so she can spend all day training them until the holidays end. And what Mitarashi Anko wants, Mitarashi Anko gets.

* * *

I'd like to address two 'Guest' reviews I received, only briefly of course. If this doesn't interest you, feel free to ignore it. Now, the first review asked why Harry couldn't see the Thestrals before his fifth year. To put it simply, it's a plot hole of JKR's. The Harry Potter wikia page says that you must **see and accept** the death to see a Thestral and Harry was too young to fully remember his mother die, and when it came to Cedric he hadn't accepted his death yet. It's just something Rowling did for reasons only she truly knows. The second review asked if there were going to be more confrontations with Dumbledore and possibly the Weasleys. The answer is yes. I'm not a confrontational person by nature, so I doubt those scenes will be too well written unless I find a Beta to go over them for me.

The second person also said that Shikamaru isn't getting much attention, and that is for a reason. Shikamaru is used to having training with Anko and his team for a few hours a day, then having the rest of the time to relax and do lazy Shikamaru-like things. Suddenly, he has a full course load of classes added on top of the three or more hours of training as well as several hours worth of homework to do each week while fending off Dumbledore when the man slips past Anko. He takes any chance he can to sleep because of this, so when the story focuses more on Hariko and Sakuno, it's because Shikamaru is extremely tired and wants to sleep. He's still their leader and the main focus of the story, but we all know Shika needs his sleep. It's like trying to take food away from Chouji. Not a good idea. And yes, Guest reviewer, more ninja will come into play eventually. Most likely once the kids finish up first year, which is probably two or three chapters away. I still need to figure out what they'll be doing in regards to Fluffy and the trapdoor.

I hope this cleared a few things up for people, I know that thinking of the answers to tham has certainly unraveled a few things I was thinking about in regards to how this series will continue. Now, I'm going to go take some aspirin and lay down in a dark room for a while.

**Reviews feed my muse! Flames will be used to roast marshmallows and make smores. There's an x button for a reason!**

Thanks to everyone that has encouraged me to continue this story! I love you all!

~Zaraki Hariko


	5. Chapter 5: Mirrors

**Authors Note: **Alright, here's chapter five! I feel quite a bit better today than yesterday, though I'm still not up to my usual level of health. For the disclaimer, go to previous chapters. I think it's pretty obvious I own nothing. Anyways, I want to thank AngelofDarkness95 for the well wishes. I'm so happy to hear that you like the story and I thank you for your get well review! It certainly put a smile on my face. This one isn't quite as long as some of the other ones, but I'm struggling with writers block right now. After this, I may need a few days to come up with an idea on how to finish up the school year and start the summer months. As usual, I live on reviews, even if it's just something small like an "I liked this chapter" one! Though I'd appreciate it if people stopped asking what will happen next, because even I don't know, lol! If I knew, I'd post another chapter, but I don't, so you'll have to wait! Thanks for being great readers!

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Classes restart after the holidays and for once, the boys are glad to be attending school. It means Anko can only drag them off for training at certain times, and less training means less chance of loosing a limb due to her insane methods.

"_Troublesome_"

This statement, for once, is not muttered by Shikamaru. It's said by Hariko, who in a strange show of weakness, flops his head onto a table in the library and groans.

"_What's wrong with you?_" Shikamaru asks, glancing up from an essay for their History of Magic class.

"_I have a headache and I'm sick and tired of these children" _Hariko replies as he closes his eyes to avoid the light.

"_You don't usually get headaches, Hariko, what's going on?_" Shikamaru looks sternly at his friend.

Hariko sighs. "_Anko-sensei has me training with my Byakuugan. She wants me able to use it inside the school by the end of the school year, just in case we're hired to come back next year. Every time I get used to how close I am to the castle, I'm supposed to move closer until it starts to bother me again. Only, all this is giving me a headache. I'm going to take a few days off of using my eyes unless it's absolutely necessary._"

Shikamaru nods in understanding. "_I'll keep that in mind_"

Sakuno appears from around a book shelf.

"_Headache, Hari?_" the pink haired boy asks as he sits next to Shikamaru.

"_Unfortunately_" Hariko replies with a small whimper.

Shikamaru packs away his essay, having finished with it, and hauls Hariko up to his feet.

"_Come on, let's get you to the Hospital wing, they probably have something for headaches there_" Shikamaru says.

Once the pale eyed boy has gotten something for his headache, they head to Ravenclaw tower. Hariko shuts himself away in his bed to rest for the rest of the day.

Shikamaru returns to the library, where Sakuno is chatting with Anko.

"_Sensei_" Shikamaru sits next to Sakuno.

"_Where's Hariko?_" Anko asks.

"_He's down with a headache because of the training you're making him do. It's really hurting his eyes and head. We'll have to work without him tonight if we want to find out what's past that three headed dog_" Shikamaru answers.

The lazy ninja pulls out a scroll and turns to Sakuno.

"_Up for a game of Shogi?_" Shikamaru asks.

"_Sure. I know I'll probably loose, but I always enjoy the challenge_" Sakuno grins and the two set up the Shogi board.

They spend the afternoon relaxing, then after dinner, head to Ravenclaw tower to finish any homework they have left. As soon as midnight hits, they sneak out of the tower and find Anko outside the forbidden third floor corridor. Inside, the three headed dog snaps and growls at them.

"_How are we going to get past this?_" Anko exclaims as she flips backwards to avoid the snapping jaws of the head on the right hand side.

Shikamaru's eyes dart around, spotting a harp in a shadowed corner.

"_The harp! There's got to be something to the saying 'music soothes the savage beast'! I'll use my family Jutsu to stop it, but I can't hole something that big for too long, someone is going to have to play the harp at least semi-decently to put it to sleep_" Shikamaru instructs Anko and Sakuno.

Sakuno nods. Anko distracts the dogs three heads while Shikamaru holds it still with his shadow possession jutsu. Sakuno sneaks past the dog and to the harp, where he starts plucking an awkward tune on the instrument. The dog, as soon as it hears the rough music, starts swaying from side to side.

As soon as it falls over asleep, Anko and Shikamaru move it's paw off the trapdoor. Quick as lightning, the three ninja are through the trapdoor and landing on a bed of wiggling vines.

"_Devils Snare!_" Sakuno recognises it instantly.

"_What's their weakness, kiddo?!_" Anko asks as one of the vines tries to strangle her.

"_Light and fire! But they'll stop attacking if they think we're dead, so relax and stop struggling! Channel Shikamaru during naptime if you have to!_" Sakuno says hurriedly.

The three ninja relax their bodies and the vines soon drop them to the floor below. They head in the only direction available, which leads them to a room filled with flying keys.

"_Now, which key is it?_" Sakuno mutters, eyeing the hundreds of keys in the air.

"_Who cares?_" Anko asks, walking over to the door they need to go through. She makes sure the door is actually locked before doing anything else.

The purple haired woman pulls a hair pin out of her hair and picks the lock easily. Sakuno looks confused while Shikamaru raises an eyebrow.

"_What?_" Anko asks defensively as she puts the pin back in her hair.

"_Since when could you pick locks?_" Sakuno asks.

"_Since I was a kid_" the woman replies. She seems lost in memories for a few seconds, before snapping out of it and opening the door.

The next room has a life-sized set of wizards chess.

Shikamaru looks to the White King.

"Are the rules the same as non-magic chess?" He asks.

The chess piece nods.

"Then we'll play our way across." The lazy ninja says determinedly.

"Sensei, take the place of a knight, Sakuno, a rook" Shikamaru says as he points to the pieces. "I'll replace the king"

For Shikamaru, the game is easy. The black pieces are nearly non-existent by the time they all make it to the other side. The next room has a fully grown mountain troll, which Anko quickly knocks out.

After the troll room is a room with a logic riddle that confuses Anko and Sakuno. While Sakuno may be smart, he has no idea what the riddle means. Fire leaps up into the only two doorways in the room. Black fire blocks the doorway to continue on, while purple fire blocks the doorway to go back to the troll room. Shikamaru reads it over, then glances at the table filled with bottles of potions.

He picks up one of the bottles and hands it over to Sakuno. "_Take a sip, then pass it to sensei. It'll get you through the black fire_" Shikamaru says.

"_What about you, brat?_" Anko asks.

"_I've been working on a Jutsu that I found in the Nara clan archives. It used to be that you could only become clan head if you knew how to use it, even if your Otou-san was the last clan head. It sounded useful. I've managed to figure it out but I haven't tested it yet. This will be my chance to test it. If it doesn't work, I can always drink the last of the potion or try seeing if the body flicker jutsu works._" Shikamaru explains.

Anko nods in agreement. "_Alright, brat. Let's go_"

Anko and Sakuno drink some of the potion before walking through the fire perfectly fine. Shikamaru makes a hand sign and concentrates. Slowly, his body sinks into the shadows around him, allowing him to travel through the shadows to the other side of the fire.

The Nara pants when he appears on the other side.

"_Okay, bad idea_" he groans. "_That took way more chakra than I thought it would. Troublesome. I guess this means I need to increase my chakra reserves before I try it again._" He reaches into his ninja pouch, which is on his hip, and pulls out a small container.

The container contains a few different coloured pills. Popping one in his mouth, Shikamaru's chakra slowly starts returning. He always has a few soldier pills on him just in case.

The room is circular, with large stone columns and contains nothing but a mirror with writing around the edge that's written backwards.

"I show not your face but your heart's desire." Sakuno reads in English.

"_Let's all stand in front of it and see what happens. It can't be bad!_" Anko insists, refusing to accept 'no' for an answer.

The woman stands in front of the mirror, and her eyes go wide at what she sees.

"_What do you see, sensei?_" Shikamaru asks curiously.

"_I-I see myself killing Orochimaru and…and the village accepting me for who I am finally. I see…I see you two and Hariko becoming Jounin and working alongside me in T&I_" her voice is soft as she speaks breathily.

Shikamaru smiles slightly.

Anko has always hated that the village doesn't like her just because she used to be Orochimaru's student before he betrayed the village, and ever since she became a sensei, the team has been like her family. Hariko, Shikamaru and Sakuno are all her little brothers. They annoy her sometimes and she likes to torture and tease them like many older siblings. Her hatred towards Orochimaru causes her to want to kill him.

Sakuno steps up next. He rolls his eyes and chuckles.

"_What'd you see, Sakuno?_" Anko asks.

"_I see my sister growing out of her fangirl attitude and becoming a successful ninja. I see our team, like Anko-sensei does, working together as Jounin. I see myself growing old and having a family. Unfortunately, I can't see the face of my future wife. That's probably because I'm not interested in anyone yet, though._" The pink haired Gennin says gazing at the mirror.

Sakuno moves away, making room for Shikamaru.

"_What's in the mirror for you, Shika?_" Sakuno asks.

Shikamaru looks into the mirror and snorts. "_Nothing I didn't already know myself_"

Anko grins. "_Oh, do tell_" She says.

"_I see myself marrying a regular girl who isn't too ugly and not too pretty. Having two children, first a girl, then a boy. Retiring after my daughter is married and my son becomes a successful ninja, and spending the rest of my life playing shogi or Go. Then dying of old age before my wife. As for my work life, I see myself working with the team as a Jounin. It seems to be a common theme among us_." Shikamaru says.

"_We should get Hari down here when he feels better_" Sakuno says.

Shikamaru's attention, momentarily distracted by Sakuno's statement, turns back to the mirror when he sees movement in it.

This time, when he looks in it, the only thing he sees is himself. Except his mirror self is holding a small red stone of some kind, similar in appearance to a dull ruby. The mirror Shikamaru smirks as he tosses it up and down several times before slipping the stone in the pocket of the ninja pants he's wearing. Shikamaru feels a weight in his pocket suddenly, and pulls the stone that was in the mirror out of his pocket.

"_This will take some research_" Shikamaru says, looking the stone over.

"_Alright, maggots! Let's see if we can get back up to that dog!" Anko exclaims. "Onward and forward!_"

As it turns out, through trial on Anko's part, the body flicker does indeed work in getting them past the magic fire. Some investigation on Anko's part shows that the fire is just that, regular fire, and is just spelled to be pretty. The body flicker allows them to move fast enough that the fire doesn't do more than make them feel worm for a second. Shikamaru mentally scolds himself. He should have tried the body flicker first. Then he wouldn't have used up so much Chakra. On the plus side, at least he found out that the jutsu works. Well, even geniuses can be wrong.

They'll certainly have a story to tell Hariko in the morning. Maybe he'll feel well enough to go down and look in the mirror.

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Well, that's it till next time. I hope you enjoyed this enough to leave a review. Flames will be used to cook hot dogs and make smores, so there's really no point in them. I love all my readers, even if you don't review. I'll continue posting without reviews, but they do tend to make my brain work faster. I guess it's the warm tingly feeling I get from them. It puts me in in a creative mood that can last hours. Thanks again, and plot ideas are always welcome. Review with them or Private Message me. Till next time, lovely readers!


	6. Chapter 6: The Philosopher's Stone

**Authors Note: **Chapter 6 is here! The usual disclaimers apply. Also, could people **PLEASE** stop asking what's going to happen next? I don't know what's going to happen until I sit down and write the chapter, which I don't do until the day or so before I post it! Thank you in advance. Also as usual, ideas for what to happen next are always welcome, as are reviews. So, continue on with this chapter! Ignoring any notes or comments of mine, this is the longest chapter yet!

* * *

When morning arrives and Hariko has been updated, the search for information on the strange red stone begins. Anko is keeping it on her at all times, sealed inside a scroll, that was labelled 'pointy things that go boom', and then sealed into a scroll tagged 'weapons'.

Though she doesn't often interact with staff and students, aside from heading off Dumbledore when needed, the people that live in the castle have learned that one should never mess with Anko. She likes sharp things, and she has very good aim. She can even make wooden skewers that her favorite food (Dango) comes on into weapons.

Their search takes continues, though they pretend to not notice anything out of the ordinary and go about their daily routines just in case anyone is suspicious. The researching of the stone lasts well into May. It's nearly June, and thus nearing the end of the school year, when they get a lead in the stone.

Shikamaru, while walking through the library so he can return to his dorms, hears three Gryffindors talking. They're Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger and Seamus Finnigan. Weasley and Finnigan seem to be good friends, and Granger is just a tag along nuisance in their eyes, but other than insulting her to the point of hiding in a bathroom crying in October, they've just put up with her and her nagging for some reason.

They talk in harsh whispers about the stone.

"Ronald! You know as well as I do that since Professor Dumbledore is out of the school today, someone will try and steal the stone!" Granger hisses angrily.

"So?" Weasley retorts. "It's not my problem. Just tell a teacher or something"

"I already did, Ronald Weasley, and Professor McGonagall didn't believe me! That's why you, Seamus and I need to go get the Philosopher's stone before someone else does!"

Finnegan sighs. "You'll not leave us along till we go along with it, so I'm in" He says. "I don't even know why Flamel would let Dumbledore keep it in the school. Right dangerous if you ask me. He's just asking for Snape to steal it"

Granger huffs.

"Seamus, we have no proof that it's Professor Snape" She says.

"Not like we have any proof it isn't" Weasley grumbles.

Shikamaru turns on his heel and silently collects a large book that he read through while bored and unable to sleep one day several months ago.

He checks the book out and hurries back to the Ravenclaw common room, where he finds Sakuno and Hariko in epic battle.

"HA!" Sakuno exclaims, slamming a playing card down on the small table they're at. "TAKE THAT!"

Some third years jump in fright and scurry off to another corner of the room where their eardrums won't be burst.

It's a rather unknown fact, but Sakuno is very competitive when it comes to card games. He even treats Go Fish like it's a huge competition and a live or die moment.

"Sakuno, we're playing crazy eights, not Exploding Snap" Hariko says calmly.

Then again, no one ever said Sakuno was actually any good at card games.

"Leave the game for now" Shikamaru says. "I have something I want to show you two"

The Ravenclaws are used to this sort of behavior. Quite a few of the students do that when they've found an interesting piece of magic in a book or worked out something interesting.

Heading up to the thankfully empty boys dorms, Shikamaru lays the book onto his trunk.

"_I read this months ago because I couldn't sleep_" He says in Japanese, flipping through the pages. "_I overheard Granger talking with Finnegan and Weasley just now about the stone. She called it the Philosophers stone. Ah, here it is. Flamel Nicholas is the only known creator of the Philosophers stone. Flamel is known for his work on Alchemy with Dumbledore Albus. Somehow, the old goat convinced Flamel to part with the stone for a while and hid it here. Why, I have no idea. It's been safe with Flamel for over six hundred years, why it's location would need to change now is a mystery to me. Anyways, The stone I got was the Philosophers stone. I'm sure of it_"

"_Well now, that's certainly surprising. I wonder, should we send it back to Flamel-san?_" Hariko asks, moving to sit on Shikamaru's bed.

"_We don't know if the old goat is reading our mail_" Sakuno points out.

Shikamaru lays back on Sakuno's bed, which is next to his own.

"_Sakuno's got a point. We should probably take a few extra days once term lets out to find him and return it in person. It's a safer bet that way. While it would be nice to take it back to the village, It's not ours and I doubt the goat asked permission to hide it. He probably stole it while having some kind of meeting with Flamel-san and hid it somewhere before moving it to Hogwarts._" Shikamaru says with a sigh.

"_Either way, we need to tell Anko-sensei what it is and does in the morning_" Hariko adds.

The next morning, while Hariko fills in Anko, Sakuno and Shikamaru are cornered by Dumbledore in the library. If only Madam Pince could see them. She would chase the old man out with a broom if she could. She's a very strict woman and even watches staff members with hawk-like eyes so they don't break her rules. She'd get Dumbledore away from Shikamaru and Sakuno, if just because Hariko has made it clear to her how he doesn't like Dumbledore harassing his 'Honorary brother'. Hariko is the only one who can get away with breaking her rules, for some reason. They'll not look a gift horse in the mouth though. It could be useful at some point.

"Harry, my boy!" Dumbledore exclaims, smiling happily.

Shikamaru plucks a large book from the shelf in front of him, though the book itself is invisible. It's titled the 'Invisible Book of Invisibility' for a reason. Flipping the book open, Shikamaru and Sakuno start to read the first page together, ignoring the old man.

"Harry, it's not polite to ignore someone" Dumbledore scolds.

The two ninja continue to ignore the man.

He's not worth it. He's not worth it. I don't want to murder someone his age just because they're a manipulative annoying old coot. Shikamaru thinks, over and over gain in an attempt not to just slash Dumbledore's throat and be rid of him for good. Perhaps Anko could leave a snake behind when they leave and have it poison the headmaster?

"Five points from Ravenclaw for disrespecting an elder" Dumbledore says.

Shikamaru turns to give the man a hard look.

"You have no right to take points. You didn't call either of our names, which means we don't have to reply. Besides, you continually disrespect me by calling me 'Harry Potter' when I am, in fact, not Harry Potter." Shikamaru notices Draco Malfoy of Slytherin skulking around a bookshelf behind Dumbledore.

"If you keep harassing myself and my friends, I'll have to take legal action against you. My dad is high up in our countries government, he's the War Advisor to the Minister and a high ranking captain of our Auror branch as well as a Clan head. Our clans are like your pureblood families, only we number in the dozens to hundreds, depending on the clan. Only one clan is smaller than a dozen members, and that's because the heir of the clan went crazy and killed all of them except his little brother. You're just digging your own grave, Headmaster, and you may be forced to lay in it soon if you don't stop harassing me. You don't want to see my parents angry. Get my parents angry and even You-know-who at full power would run and scream. Heck, I'm scared of my own mother when she's just annoyed" It's a little far fetched, but it's close enough to the truth that no one else would know just how good a liar Shikamaru is.

"Don't forget Hariko's clan" Sakuno pipes up. "They're one of the strongest and largest clans in the country with the political clout to back them up. The last person to take them on was publicly put to death for harassing the oldest daughter of the clan head, who happens to be Hariko's twin sister. It's too bad she's so shy that she needs private teaching at home."

Shikamaru inwardly smirks. He has his devious side.

"Now, Harry my boy, there's no need for any of that. If you would just accept your duties to the wizarding world-" Dumbledore starts.

"I have no duties to the British wizarding world, Headmaster" Shikamaru replies.

"My only duties are to my country, my clan and my friends. And by country, I mean the Fire Country in Japan, not your country. I don't have citizenship here, I've only been approved for schooling. As soon as the school year is out, I'm back to Japan to continue my training. I'll be taking on a Japanese title similar to the 'Lord' title when my father steps down, after all. You can't change this, you can't make me stay, and if you try to, my village's law, in accordance to the treaty between our countries from 1734, says that I can use whatever force is necessary to return home. That means that if you try and keep me here, or harass me after the fifth warning, of which I've given you three so far, then I can go as far as ordering someone to kill you or do it myself." Shikamaru glares at the man.

"You had better respect my student, old man" Anko hisses, slipping out of the shadows nearby.

"Anko-sensei!" Shikamaru and Sakuno, just for fun, salute.

"Hello, boys" Anko purrs, the dark 'evil snake-lady' mask she uses around the villagers is on in full force.

The woman pulls out a kunai and strokes it along Sakuno's cheek, but the boy doesn't flinch or even move. A nick is made in his cheek, just deep enough to start lightly bleeding. Anko's tongue swipes across the blood right away. Sakuno, for all that Anko's tongue is practically molesting his cheek, looks perfectly calm. He's spent two years studying under Anko as a Gennin, he's used to both sides of her.

Shikamaru just rolls his eyes at their display.

"Sensei" Shikamaru prods her.

"Ah, right." The woman seems to slither around Sakuno to stand between Dumbledore and the Gennin.

A small cackle bubbles up in her throat.

"If you try and keep my student here, he won't have to ask anyone to kill you. I'd happily do it myself" Anko leans forward, her large breasts pressing against the fishnet outfit she wears under her trench coat.

"I've killed people must faster and stronger than you, old man. By the time you got a spell out of that pretty little wand of yours, I'd have snapped your spine or sliced your throat. I don't kill using a pathetic little spell. I kill with my own two hands. If you don't want me to kill you personally, I'm sure I could arrange for one of the giant tigers that live in the forest around our village to be sent here. They're the size of a Cerberus, but only one headed and much more vicious. They love eating humans when they can get the chance." Anko sneers at the now nervous man. "Leave Shikamaru alone. He's not your damn savior and he never will be! Just because you put Harry Potter on a muggles doorstep in the middle of the night in November and lost him, doesn't mean that the next person to bear even the slightest resemblance to him that comes along is him!"

Shikamaru reaches up and, for once, unties his hair. It falls around him in soft, straight layers. With his hair down and the fact that it's not actually a messy rats nest visible, he looks nothing like Harry Potter. He doesn't have the scar anymore, it's been gone since he wa adopted, so he bears no resemblance to the Potter family or any sign that he could be the boy-who-lived.

"As you can see, I don't look anything like a Potter. The ponytail I wear is standard for my clan if you're a member of the head family. Yes, I have a stag carved onto the lid of my trunk, but that's because my clan raises deer. 'Shika' means deer. We have a strong connection to the animals and consider ourselves guardians of the herd. We have several acres of land for the deer to roam on. Just the fact that I like stags and have dark hair isn't enough of a reason to continually harass me and call me Harry Potter. Even if I was Harry Potter, it's not like I'd tell you. Anyone that has eyes can see that you're a manipulative old fool that doesn't like it when something or someone goes against your plan. You think yourself above others because no one has bested you yet." Shikamaru says, staring at the old man with cold eyes.

"Headmaster, have you ever had a muggle intelligence test done?" Sakuno asks, a devious smile on his lips.

"Why, yes, I have" Dumbledore replies. "Why do you ask?"

"May I know the score you received?"

"One hundred and fifteen"* Dumbledore replies, looking confused.

"So of high average intelligence, then" Sakuno grins. "Shikamaru, when tested, scored over two hundred"**

"And he barely answered three quarters of the questions, if I recall" Hariko says as he appears from around a bookcase. He has several rolls of parchment in his arms, as well as a large book. Tucked under one arm.

"It was too troublesome to finish" Shikamaru mutters, a light dusting of pink across his cheeks.

"I heard that you just tipped over asleep" Anko grins.

"Well, that too. It was so troublesome, though" Shikamaru sighs.

"What he means, sensei, is that it was too boring. That's why he sleeps in class all the time. He's already at fourth year level in all the classes but the teachers keep refusing to put him in more difficult classes because of his age." Hariko explains.

"Now, we have homework to do. There's that essay due for History of Magic tomorrow and neither of you have started it" Hariko drags Shikamaru and Sakuno off to work on their homework. "Don't forget you have the potions assignment to do!" Anko calls after them, as loud as she dares in the library.

When the Gennin are out of sight, they double back and find Malfoy's hiding place. "Malfoy, come with us" Sakuno grabs the blond by the robe sleeve and tugs him over to their hidden corner of the library.

Shikamaru sits down across from Malfoy and smirks. "We have a proposition for you, Malfoy, and you'd be a fool to refuse it"

Even Shikamaru has his devious side.

* * *

Below is the scale I used for their IQ's. If this isn't the scale your country, state, province or city uses, this is the one used when my class was tested when I was thirteen.

*Dumbledore is scaled as being "High Average", which i the 110-119 range on this scale.

**In Naruto, it's once said that Shikamaru has an IQ of over 200, and would thus be considered "Very Superior" according to this chart, and most others as well because "Very Superior" is for anyone with a score of 130 and above.

**Current Wechsler (WAIS–IV, WISC–IV, WPPSI–IV) IQ classification**

**IQ Range ("deviation IQ") - IQ Classification**

130 and above - Very Superior** ****

120–129 - Superior

110–119 - High Average *****

90–109 - Average

80–89 - Low Average

70–79 - Borderline

69 and below - Extremely Low


	7. Chapter 7: Deals and Investigations

**Authors Note: **Two chapters in one day! This isn't as good as I could have made it, but I hope you like it. I really can't think of a way for Dumbledore to learn his lesson without loosing everything and being put in jail, so this is the next best thing. It's not that I hate Dumbledore...I'm just terrible at writing his character beyond his constant use of "Lemon drop?" and "my boy". Any ideas to revise this chapter are welcome.

* * *

Shikamaru, Hariko and Sakuno all have devious smiles on their lips as they watch Draco Malfoy squirm across the table from them.

"You see, Malfoy" Shikamaru says, "As you just witnessed, the Headmaster is under the mistaken impression that I'm the boy-who-lived. I'm a Japanese pureblood heir thank you very much, and I want him to stop bothering me"

Malfoy sits up straighter, calming down. He's not exactly stupid himself.

"And you want me to keep the old man busy somehow" Malfoy replies.

"Or put him under the impression that Harry Potter died years ago. You can keep a secret, can't you Malfoy? Even from your father?"

The blond nods quickly. "I'll swear it if you need me to"

The Gennin exchange glances, before nodding as one. "Then swear"

Malfoy swears on his life and magic that he'll keep all their secrets as long as they want them to be secret.

"I used to be Harry Potter, Malfoy" Shikamaru leans his elbows on the table. "I renounced the Potter name and all hold I have on it. I was found after Dumbledore illegally dropped me off at my birth aunt's house and blood adopted by a Japanese pureblood clan. To make it simple, I don't have a single drop of Potter blood in me anymore. The last of it would have disappeared by the time I was five or six."

Sakuno and Hariko get up and patrol the area to make sure no one is listening in.

"Dumbledore keeps insisting that Harry needs to save the wizards because the Dark Lord will return. He's even admitted to Anko-sensei that there's a prophecy about Potter and the Dark Lord. But when Harry Potter defeated the Dark Lord as a baby, he fulfilled the Prophecy. Dumbledore, being the idiot he is, thinks the prophecy is still active because the evil wizard didn't die spiritually. The man's soul is still out there somewhere. But his body was killed. That's dead enough to fulfill a prophecy. They're always subjective at best and utterly confusing and mystifying at worst." Shikamaru explains.

The former savior sighs.

"I won't pretend to be all knowing like Dumbledore does. I know I have faults and I know what they are. Unlike Dumbledore, though, I have actual battle experience. The only fights he's been in are when he killed Grindewald and two skirmishes with the Dark Lord the Potter child killed. You're a pureblood, you obviously know of the Elemental Nations next to Japan?" Shika asks.

Malfoy nods. "I do" He replies.

"I come from the Village Hidden in the Leaves in the Land of Fire. I'm the heir of the Nara ninja clan and a Gennin ranked ninja. I'm on Team thirteen under Mistress Anko Mitarashi. My teammates are Sakuno Haruno, from the wealthy merchant family the Haruno's, and Hariko Hyuuga, from the wealthy and powerful ninja clan the Hyuuga's." Shikamaru states.

Malfoy's eyes are wide. "A-A real ninja?" He asks weakly.

"Yes, a real ninja. I've been a Gennin for two years now. I graduated at age ten. In my year as a Gennin within the village, my team went on quite a few missions of high rank. The lowest possible mission rank are the D-ranks. The ones just above them are C-rank and so on, up to A-rank, which Chuunin and Jounin take on. The Highest rank missions, which usually only Jounin or very skillful Chuunin take on, are S-rank mission. We've taken on several of all the missions up to B-rank, and one A-rank." Shikamaru sighs once again.

"I may be lazy, Malfoy, but I'm not some pampered little prince. I refuse to be a pawn in Dumbledore's scheme for fame and fortune. It seems to me that in the years leading up to the Dark Lord attacking the Potters, Dumbledore's fame as a powerful and wise man was dipping. It had been too long since he had defeated Grindewald and so he planned to take down you-know-who. Then, the prophecy was spoken about the boy to defeat the Dark Lord. I've dealt with manipulative clients before, and I play quite a bit of chess and Shogi. No doubt, Dumbledore thought that if he could get the boy to defeat the Dark Lord under his thumb, he could claim the boy had turned evil after defeating the Dark Lord. Once Dumbledore killed the boy, he would have all rights to the boys vaults as a right of conquest. This is all just speculation, of course. I really have no idea what's going thorough the man's mind. What I do know, is I don't appreciate being manipulated." Shikamaru's devious smirk is back.

"What I want you to do, Malfoy, in return for the protection of my clan should you ever need it, is to go to any and all newspapers and publishers you know and give them a tip off. Tell them that Dumbledore is trying to claim a foreign national as Harry Potter, even though there's not even the slightest connection between the two. He knows I used to be Potter, but because of renouncing my family name if he tried to say I was under truth serum, he wouldn't be able to because it would be a lie. You need to spin the story as if Dumbledore is forcing his ideas off on me to try and turn me into a poster boy and weapon against future dark Lords. You heard what he said earlier. He thinks I have a 'Duty to the wizarding world'. I'm sure you can make him look terrible"

Malfoy gains a devious smirk of his own. "Oh, I can make him look terrible, alright" the blond says. "You said he left…Potter…with muggle relatives? Tell me more about that"

Shikamaru looks Malfoy over. "You're tricky…I like that"

The lazy ninja explains about how as a baby, he was left on the doorstep of magic hating muggles in the middle of the night in November with nothing but a basket, a blanket and a letter. No warming spells or anything to protect him. Malfoy will have fun spilling the beans on the old man. He needs to be taken down a peg or ten.

Hariko and Sakuno return.

"Done?" Sakuno asks.

Shikamaru nods and stands up. "Yeah. Malfoy and I have a deal worked out, so we're done here. You know where to find me if needed, Malfoy. Though I'd suggest checking here before anywhere else. This is the table we're usually sitting at. If we're not here, we're by the willow tree next to the Black Lake"

The blond nods. "Of course. I'll find you if I have any issues"

Within the week, an article outlining Dumbledore's past mistakes comes to light. With Anko sneaking into the old man's office and private quarters to gather Intel for Malfoy to reveal, the article has enough information for the Ministry and International Confederation of Wizards to take notice and take away all his titles except for headmaster pending investigation into the accusations. Thankfully, Malfoy made sure that his own name was never used. Shikamaru's name was used, though, because he can testify that he isn't Harry Potter.

Considering who it involves, the Investigation is pushed forward to take place the day after the article came out.

The Ministry sends some Aurors to interview the Headmaster and Shikamaru. They introduce themselves as Auror Shacklebolt and Auror Tonks. Tonks, apparently, is fresh out of the Auror academy and is going a years placement under a senior Auror.

While Shacklebolt interviews Dumbledore under truth serum in a separate room, Tonks sits with Shikamaru in the Hospital wing. It's the only place with two connected but separate rooms that have places to sit and talk. Plus, you never know how someone might react to truth serum.

"So, has Professor Dumbledore ever approached you like he did before the article came out?" Tonks asks to break the silence.

Shikamaru looks up from a book. "A few times" He replies.

"My tutor has been doing her best to keep him away from me, but even she needs breaks, despite what she may admit to"

Tonks looks confused.

"Tutor?"

"I'm the heir of a clan head in Japan" Shikamaru says. "I need lessons to take on the headship when my father retires. Normally, my father would teach me, but as he can't get away from work to come here, he hired someone to teach me and two other clan heirs that are here with me."

"Oh!" the young woman blushes. "Sorry"

"It's no problem" Shikamaru shrugs.

The door to the nurse's office opens, allowing Shacklebolt to step out into the main wing. He closes the door behind him.

"Tonks, come here and stand by the door. Make sure the Headmaster can't hear anything from in there" the dark skinned man says.

"Right" Tonks's hair turns from pink to dark brown as she steps up and guards the door.

Shacklebolt walks over with a small vial.

"Open up" He says.

"I don't believe you have the authority to do that, young man" Shikamaru's eyes dart over to the door into the Hospital wing, where his father stands next to the Hokage of all people.

"Dad! Lord Hokage!" Shikamaru stands up and bows.

Shacklebolt's eyes widen.

"H-Hokage?" The man stutters. "A-As in from the E-Elemental Nations?"

"Indeed" The Hokage frowns at the man.

"I was under the impression that one needed parental consent to administer truth serum to minors" Shikaku Nara says, stepping up next to his son.

"N-Normally we would. But the Ministry said they'd gotten permission from the boys guardian!" The Auror says.

"And who is said Guardian?" Shikaku asks sternly.

"I think her name was Petunia Dursley"

"Who, exactly, is this 'Petunia Dursley', and how did she become **my son's** guardian?"

"You'd have to get Dumbledore's thoughts on that one" Shacklebolt says. "I don't know either. I do know that she's the aunt of Harry Potter"

"My son isn't Harry Potter" Shikaku glares harshly at the man. "How many times must we say it? He's a Nara through and through. Yes, he was a British Wizard when we adopted him, but 'Harry Potter' is a name we only vaguely know of. The Ministry has no claim on my son"

"If he was a British wizard, they do" the Auror points out.

"Why would the Ministry care about an orphaned muggleborn?" Shikaku asks. "His birth parents may have been magical, but they were both muggleborn. Either way, we blood adopted him. He only holds blood from my wife and I now. He's also renounced his previous name. The laws clearly state that you have no hold on him because of this"

Shikamaru's father, after hearing about what the truth serum does, allows them to administer it. The interview goes on for quite some time, about two hours, with Shikamaru having to state multiple times that he's not Harry Potter.

The Aurors warn Dumbledore not to talk to Shikamaru until they release their report the next day and take their leave.

When the report is published in the Daily Prophet the next morning, Shikamaru raises an eyebrow.

According to the report, Dumbledore was under the impression that the Prophecy between the Dark Lord and Harry Potter was still active, and that because Shikamaru (who he thought is Harry Potter) was British before his blood adoption, that it would still somehow hold him to the prophecy and that it meant the Dark Lord would return and that Harry Potter would have to defeat him. He thought that being a ninja would make Shikamaru realise the duty he had to the Wizarding world and that he would agree to go along with the plan to defeat the Dark Lord. It's in this report that Shikamaru finally learns the Dark Lord's name. Voldemort.

Because it was a case of Dumbledore's power going to his head and him thinking he's always right (as far as the Aurors could figure out anyways), Dumbledore is allowed to keep all his positions. However, he's warned away from using people like pawns and told that outside his duties as headmaster, he's not to have any contact with Shikamaru. If he wants to hire Shikamaru's team for another mission, someone else will have to do the hiring and pay for it, even if they just got instructions and money from Dumbledore.

All in all, it's an interesting end to the year. While part of Shikamaru will miss the castle and it's occupants, another part can't wait to be back in the village with his friends and taking missions like he used to. He never thought he would actually miss taking missions, but he does.

Though the huge sum of money he's getting for such a long high ranked mission is a huge bonus.

* * *

**Authors Note part 2: **Alright! That's the end of the chapter. May or may not have another out tonight, depends on inspiration and reviews. More reviews means I work faster on the next chapter. Maybe it's just because of the slight ego boost, but reviews somehow make me want to write. The chapters that get the most reviews always make me write an even better chapter the next time, so continue reviewing! I love hearing your ideas!

As to the suggestions of pairings, I'm still accepting them and writing up a list. I will say this now, I **refuse** to pair the boys with Lavender Brown, either of the Patil twins, any of the bad girls from Naruto, or Cho Chang. They're useless support characters in my mind that have barely any personality other than Cho's jealousy. Oh, and Ginny Weasley is SO not in the running. she's a little too obsessive-fangirl for me.

The girls I have in mind, no matter who the boy, are Hermione, Luna, Hinata (not for Hariko, I don't do incest), a Female Haku, Ino and Temari. Any girls I haven't mentioned will be studied for personality traits and considered, then added to the list. I'll put up a poll later on in the series when the boys are old enough to start dating, which is around fourteen or fifteen in my mind. Right now, it's focusing just on what Happens in the Harry Potter series, with them doing things like the Chuunin exams and other important Naruto things in the summers between years, or over christmas holiday if they go back to the village then.

Review and I'll get the next chapter out sooner! You're all the best!


	8. Chapter 8: Going Home

**Authors Note: **I'm really not happy with this chapter, but the next one will be better! I'm half way through chapter 9, so I'll be posting that one in a few hours. Definitely before midnight though. Disclaimer is in the first few chapters. As usual, reviews make me happy, which means the next chapter will be of higher quality than the previous one. and I can't believe over 70 people are following this! I think that once I reach 100, I may have to do a chapter dump and put out three or four chapters in celebration. You all rock!

* * *

The end of the year exams fly by quickly and soon, all the students are packing up their things to return home for the summer.

Team Anko is going to ignore the train and head off on their own. Anko managed to find out where Nicholas Flamel lives, so they'll be dropping off his stone before they head back to Konoha.

Shikamaru shoves the last of his things into his trunk, which is then sealed in a sealing scroll and placed in a dark green backpack.

"Ready?" Hariko asks, slipping his own sealing scroll into the black backpack he usually uses for missions.

"Ready" Shikamaru confirms, shouldering his backpack.

The two boys head down to the common room, where Sakuno is waiting for them. He was packed the day before and only had to shove his pajamas and training clothes into a sealing scroll before packing it away.

They meet Anko at the doors to the school and slip outside.

"_Let's go, brats_" Anko says, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

The Gennin are right behind her.

It takes four hours of running at ninja speed for them to arrive at the countryside home of Nicholas Flamel. They know it's not wise to pass the property line without knowing what kind of wards are there, so they wait outside it. No doubt they'll be spotted.

It isn't long before a woman with long brown hair with gray around the temples exits the house and walks over briskly, despite her long heavy looking skirt.

"Can I help you?" She asks.

"Are you Mrs. Flamel?" Shikamaru asks. "If you are, we have something to return to your husband"

The woman raises an eyebrow. "Usually people come to steal things" she says.

"Yeah, well, my brats aren't normal people" Anko retorts.

"You come from the Elemental Nations, I assume? Only they wear those metal-plated headbands you four have" Mrs. Flamel says.

"Yes, we come from the Hidden Leaf Village" Sakuno says.

"I see. Well, come in. If you try and hurt anyone on the property, the wards will knock you out" the woman leads the way towards the house.

"Good to know" Anko mutters.

Inside, a man is at the table reading the morning paper with a cup of coffee by his hand.

"Are these the ones that were outside the wards?" He asks, looking at them.

"Yes, Nicholas. These are some ninja from the Hidden Leaf Village"

"Oh my!" the man, Nicholas, looks surprised. "What the devil are you doing here?"

"We were attending Hogwarts this past year and learnt that something of yours was inside the castle" Shikamaru says, reaching into a pocket for a small sealing scroll.

He unseals the red stone he got from the Mirror of Erised.

"I believe this is yours"

The couple's eyes widen. "How did you get this? Dumbledore told me he had accidentally lost it!" Nicholas exclaims.

"Oh, he didn't loose it" Anko says. "He put it in some mirror that shows you your hearts deepest desire, shoved it behind some pathetic tasks the teachers put together, and then put a Cerberus over the trapdoor that lead to the traps. A first year could get through. In fact, three did get through. I'm not counting my boys, of course. They're just skilled like that"

Shikamaru nods. "I think the Headmaster wanted Harry Potter to make an appearance and save the day or something, but he refuses to see that Potter renounced his family and name so he could go only by his adoptive name."

Mrs. Flamel nods.

"It's understandable" she says. "The children of today were brought up on stories of Harry Potter and how he's a white knight that will save the day and get the princess. The Adults believe him to be the next Dumbledore or Merlin, since he defeated a Dark Lord as a baby. Well, they'll think he's the next leader of the light for now but one wrong step and they'll be calling him a dark lord in training"

Nicholas sets his newspaper down and takes a sip of coffee.

"But you didn't come just to discuss the political climate around the Boy who lived. You came to return my stone."

Shikamaru shoves the stone over to the man.

"I've been looking for this everywhere you know" the man says. "I had a feeling Dumbledore may have taken it when he visited for our monthly chat with a list of all sorts of questions on Alchemy that have never interested him before."

Mrs. Flamel, as if anticipating what her husband would want, brings over an old ceramic pot of some kind with a fitted lid. The man holds the stone over the pot and drops it in.

"There, safe and sound" He says.

Shikamaru looks closer at the pot and sees that roughly scratched onto the front is the label 'Eye of Newt'. It's a very common and cheap ingredient that's rarely actually used beyond first year level potions. If someone broke in to steal the stone, they wouldn't think to look in the pot of Newt Eyes. Clever.

Soon enough, the ninja are on their way to Konoha via illegal portkey. Mrs. Flamel is, apparently, quite good at making sure they can't be traced. She even took the Ministry tracking spells off the ninja's wands, so the Ministry couldn't find them or catch them using underaged magic outside of school. It was her way of thanking them for returning the stone and not just keeping it for themselves. She also promised that she would give them better payment when the Ninja came up with one that didn't involve giving up the stone or it's secrets. They'll likely confer with the Hokage before asking for any payment.

The Portkey drops them off in a field just outside of Konoha, allowing them to quickly make their way into the village and to the Hokage's office. Within minutes of arrival, they're in the man's office and reporting on the past school year.

"_Hmm, that is an interesting year. I assume that if given a choice, you would still go back despite Dumbledore's harassment?_" The old man asks.

"_Hai, Hokage-sama_" The Gennin say as one.

"_Good, good. He'll probably send one of his teachers this time, since he's not allowed contact with Shikamaru-kun. Is there anything I should include in the contract this next time?_"

"_Sir, if I may?_" Anko asks.

"_Yes, go on, Anko-chan_" The Hokage smiles.

"_I was thinking we should, if possible, include some fine print. You know, just something along the lines of the contract rules applying to all staff members of Hogwarts, new or old, including the headmaster, and that no staff member is to contact the Gennin in any way unless it's for class work, detentions, or other staff-like things. If the Gennin were being singled out for some reason, it would bring suspicion on them, ne?_" The woman smirks.

The old man's smile widens. "_A wonderful idea, Anko-chan. I'll keep it in mind and perhaps add a few of my own rules. Now, there's a Jounin meeting later today talking about the students that will be nominated for the Chuunin exams, so I'd like it if you could attend. Boys, you're free to go for the day. I believe Naruto should be eating some Ramen at Ichiraku's right now, if you wan to see him. Oh, and he graduated successfully while you were gone_"

The Gennin are off like shots, speeding through the streets in search of the blond haired village pariah known as Uzumaki Naruto. Before Shikamaru, Sakuno and Hariko graduated early, they would sometimes skip classes and pull pranks with Naruto and a boy named Inuzuka Kiba. Another boy, Akimichi Chouji, would sometimes join them but he normally just sat with his childhood friend Yamanaka Ino and did as she ordered.

The Gennin arrive at Ichiraku Ramen and see Naruto on his fifth bowl. Uchiha Sasuke is with him, as well as a girl with shoulder length black hair and orange eyes. If Shikamaru recalls correctly, she's Rinko. She was in their Academy class but was very quiet and kept to herself. She has no surname, as far as anyone knows, but she's always been interested in the medical field and had the highest scores for their class on treating wounds. She's probably on the team as a medicnin.

Shikamaru drapes an arm over Naruto's shoulders, startling the blond. "_Hello, Naruto_" He says.

Naruto's eyes light up.

"_Shikamaru! You're back from your mission!_" the blond exclaims happily, hugging the shadow user tightly.

"_N-Naruto, you're squishing me!_" Shikamaru chokes out.

"_Sorry!_"

Naruto is an orphan, but as far as he's concerned, Shikamaru, Sakuno and Hariko are his family. The three of them, before they left the Academy and even after they left, made sure he had a lunch to eat that wasn't instant ramen or spoiled food. They bought him a proper jacket for the colder months with their pooled allowances as well. When their parents met Naruto when they were nine, the adults had originally been angry that they had befriended the boy who they warned him away from.

Shikamaru's parents only wanted him to stay away because they were worried the Village would start treating him the same, but he told them flat out he didn't care what the villagers thought. The three boys refused to abandon Naruto. He was always alone and looked so sad that they just had to cheer him up. It's how Naruto got into Pranking. Shikamaru childishly used his shadow to trip up their teacher of the time, who liked to pick on Naruto.

The Gennin spend a few hours with Naruto and his team, catching up. They haven't seen them for a little over ten months, so there's lots to talk about.

A snake finds them in the afternoon, winding it's way up Shikamaru's leg as the six Gennin walk through the village towards where Team Seven is supposed to meet their sensei. Shikamaru ignores the snake, though Naruto keeps shooting it wary looks.

At Team Seven's meeting spot, Shikamaru, Hariko and Sakuno say goodbye to the others.

"Sensei wants to meet with us" Shikamaru explains. "She sent a green summon snake to us, which means we're supposed to head to the meeting place as soon as possible."

With their goodbyes done, Team Anko takes off over the rooftops. They only jump down to the street when they're at the meeting place. The meeting place happens to be Anko's favorite Dango shop.

As soon as they're spotted, Anko grabs all three of them by their shirts and pulls them quickly to their training ground. Battle Training Ground 44, affectionately called the Forest of Death.

"_Okay, Maggots! It's that time of year again! Time for the Chuunin Selection Exams!_" Anko shouts, striking a dramatic pose.

She must have gorged on Dango as soon as she got away from the Hokage.

"_You've made me wait until your former classmates will be taking the exam, but this year, you're going to take it! All your little friends from the Academy will be taking the exam, as well as a team from the year you three graduated. One of them is Hari's cousin. Anyways, you've been nominated and as the second part is going to be held here in our precious training ground, I expect you to be among the first to pass. I'm not an examiner because you three are in the exam, but I know Ibiki is the Examiner for the first part, and Yamashiro Aoba is the examiner for the second. The third is usually just a series of one-on-one fights, so they'll probably just call in an available special Jounin or something to referee them._" Anko explains.

"_Hai, sensei_" the boys say in unison.

"_Now, let's get training! There's only a week before the Chuunin exams start!_" Anko summons one of her larger snakes, which spurs the boys into leaping over the fence that surrounds training ground 44 and taking off at a quick run. It seems they'll be doing evasion training today.

Just as they think they're safe, there's a loud pop.

Hariko yelps out, "_Holy-!_" he nearly trips on a tree branch, cutting off one of the rare swears he uses."_She brought out some of the poisonous snakes!_"

It seems like it will be a long, possibly painful and terrifying, afternoon of training.

* * *

Due to Shikamaru graduating early and Sakura being too young to graduate, the teams were unbalanced. I fixed this by shoving in two more OC's, but these two will be mentioned, and may have a few lines, but they're not important and can really just be overlooked if you want.

The first is on a team with Naruto and Sasuke. Her name is Rinko. She has shoulder length black hair and orange eyes. She's the same height as Naruto, so she's on the sort side. She's interested in becoming a medicnin and is a very quiet person. She balances out the team because she keeps Naruto quiet when needed and thus has some worth in Sasuke's eyes both as a medic and a person. Rinko goes nuts for Yaoi manga, though, and usually has a copy of one in her hip pouch.

The second is Nara Yoshi, who's on Ino and Chouji's team. He's Shikamaru's first cousin on his mothers side. He and Shikamaru have met several times over the years, but they're not particularly close. He looks like other Nara's, with dark hair and dark eyes. His hair, unlike most Nara, is short and spikey. It's his preference. He's decent in the clan Jutsu, but nowhere near Shikamaru's level with them. He has above average intelligence, but isn't a genius. He also has a huge fear of snakes.


	9. Chapter 9: The Chuunin Exams Begin

**Authors Note: **Here's chapter nine like I promised! Two in one day again! I'm going to start writing chapter 10 now, but I may not post it till tomorrow. Disclaimer is in the early chapters. I still like reviews. I'm slowly working on some artwork for this series, but if anyone else wants to try their hand at it, they're welcome to so long as I get credit for the OC's involved.

* * *

The week before the Exams flies by quickly between training with Anko and catching up with friends they haven't seen since the previous summer.

When Team Anko arrives to hand in their application forms so they can take the exams, they notice two of the Chuunin gate guards standing in front of a door that's under a Genjutsu to make it seem like it's the correct floor. They're over an hour early, so they just greet the two Chuunin before heading to the correct classroom.

Inside are some of the best and brightest from other villages, and several Konoha teams as well.

Team Anko finds a table to sit at, and take their seats.

An hour later, this years rookie teams arrive. Team Anko is chatting with a team from Suna when they do. Well, the Kunoichi of the Sunagakure team is blatantly flirting with Shikamaru, who's trying to sleep. Hariko is talking with a puppet user on the team about the pros and cons of Chakra strings, while Sakuno has a staring contest with the youngest Suna ninja who has a gourd on his back. Team Anko met them while they were in Suna for a mission during their Rookie year.

Of course, as is usual with Naruto, he ends up making a fool of himself while angering the foreign ninja. Shikamaru gets up and walks over to Naruto, mostly to get away from the blond kunoichi.

"Baka" Shikamaru says, whacking the blond over the back of his head. "You've made all the foreign ninja angry with you. If you make it to the second part of this exam, they're likely to try and kill you to show you just how strong they are"

Ibiki, the Examiner, soon arrives and the Gennin are assigned numbers to decide where they sit. Team Anko, though split up, doesn't have any trouble with the exam. It's an exam to test cheating, and Anko is the queen of being sneaky. Sakuno is sitting next to a planted Chuunin, so he copies the few answers he doesn't know out of the corner of his eye. Hariko, like his twin sister is doing at the front of the room and his cousin somewhere around the middle, uses his Byakuugan to get the answers off the examiner. Shikamaru quickly answers them before taking a nap at his desk.

The first exam goes by quickly and soon enough, they're standing in front of the Forest of Death for the second exam. From Konoha this years three rookie teams pass the first exam, as well as Shikamaru's team and the team Hariko's cousin is on. Hariko, seeing his twin's distress and nervousness at the huge dangerous looking forest, pulls her over to his team to calm her down.

"_You don't need to worry, Hina-chan. So long as you keep alert and stay away from the forest animals, you'll be fine_" Hariko assures her.

They're given release forms to sign, stating that it's not the villages fault if they're killed during the exam. Hariko signs his with his sister right next to him. He's a pillar of support for her.

Once everyone has signed their form and handed it in, the teams are each given one of two scrolls. They're either given a heaven scroll or an earth scroll. The examiner, Yamashiro Aoba, informs them that they have to find the scroll that they're not given. If they have an Earth Scroll, they need to find a Heaven Scroll. Only then can they continue on to the tower and pass the second exam. They also can't open the scrolls while in the forest or something will happen, and it didn't sound like a good something either.

The teams are all assigned a gate, which they go to wait at until the start of the exam is signaled. Team Anko gets a gate in an area they know really well. Truthfully, they know the whole forest pretty well, but this area they know the best because it has the clearing they like to train in near to the gate.

"Begin!" Aoba says into a headset, which alerts the listening Chuunin and Jounin that are guarding the gates. The gate guards unlock and fling the gates open.

Hariko leads the way through the forest, using his Byakuugan to keep an eye out for enemy ninja.

"_Cloud ninja to the west, they have a heaven scroll_." Hariko informs his teammates. "_Rain ninja to the east, an earth scroll. Northeast is a team from Rock. They're heading towards Naruto's team. They have a heaven scroll_"

Shikamaru thinks for a moment. "_We'll go after Iwagakure_"

"_Why Iwa?_" Sakuno asks.

"_Surely you can't think Naruto looks like the Yondaime for no reason?_" Shikamaru retorts. "_No matter what Hokage-sama may tell or not tell Naruto, he's the Fourth Hokage's son_"

Sakuno nods and leaps to another tree branch as they run towards the Iwa team.

"I get it" The pink haired boy says. "You think they'll be unnecessarily rough with him if they catch him"

"Right in one" Shikamaru replies. "It's troublesome, but he's our friend so we should help him out"

Hariko leads the way and soon enough, they're upon the Iwagakure team. They easily hide themselves in the trees as the Iwa team cautiously walks along the ground. Shikamaru nods to Hariko and Sakuno before allowing himself to hang upside down on one of the tree branches. The many Shadows in the forest give Shikamaru extra reach with his shadows, so when he uses his shadow bind jutsu, all three of the Iwa Gennin are frozen and unable to move from where they stand.

Sakuno pulls his wand out of a holster he bought in the wand shop and strapped to his forearm. Twirling it around his fingers a few times, he flicks the wand at the three Gennin, casting the same spell three times.

"Petrificus Totalus" He says.

Shikamaru releases his Jutsu after that, knowing the three Iwa Gennin are as stiff as boards because of the spell. It's quite handy having magic, so long as you don't waste your time with useless cheering charms and such.

Team Anko leaps out of the trees, landing softly in front off three now terrified Iwa Gennin.

"_You've got something we want_" Sakuno grins.

"_We'll be taking your scroll now, Iwa-nin's. If you want to pass this part of the exam, you'd better steal scrolls from two other teams. But either way, we'll be leaving you here for a while._" Hariko says as he reaches into the Kunoichi's bra, where she hid the scroll.

Once they have the scroll, they head right for the center tower.

Anko appears when they open their scrolls at the prompting of a poster with a ninja motto on it.

"_You passed, brats!_" She exclaims happily. "_Aoba owes me as many Dango as I can eat in one sitting now, since you three are the first here!_"

She doesn't bother explaining about the poster. The Gennin understand it. Without training your body, there's no point in training your mind. You're truly strong when you've trained both of them equally.

They head into the tower and to the rooms they usually use when they're staying overnight. The rooms are in a hidden hallway of bedrooms meant for ANBU who are using the training ground for long periods of time, but the they claimed three rooms as their own. The ANBU, too terrified of Anko to protest, allow them their privacy and avoid the claimed rooms as much as possible.

Once settled, the Gennin go to the top of the tower to bother Aoba, who should be up there monitoring which Gennin arrive when with several ANBU.

As they sneak into the room, they see that Aoba is watching the footage of them arriving in the Tower forty five minutes into the exam. The man is shocked and speechless.

"_You really shouldn't be surprised_" Shikamaru says, leaning against the door frame.

Aoba is startled.

"_How did you get up here?_" the man asks.

Sakuno points to a sign that's hanging from a wall with a Kunai. It reads 'Team Anko's HQ' in Anko's writing.

"_This is our Headquarters. If we're not with Anko-sensei at the Dango shop, we're in this training ground. We've got permanent rooms in the ANBU hall and everything. We spent at least a few hours every day for a year in this training ground. We know it just as well as we know our homes_" the pink haired boy replies.

"_It's true_" An ANBU with a tiger mask says. "_They've had the run of this place since they graduated. Anko-san even had a separate bathroom added to the tower just for them. If any of us use it, we get mauled by one of her more poisonous snakes and end up in hospital for a week_"

Aoba is surprised. "_She does that?_"

"_Hai. Anko-sensei is very protective of us. We're like little brothers to her_" Hariko replies. "_Frankly, I'm surprised they only spend a week in the hospital_"

The remaining days are spent training in the ANBU training room, which the other Gennin don't know how to get in to, and annoying the ANBU. Well, Sakuno annoys the ANBU. Hariko and Shikamaru just watch on with amusement.

Once the end of the Second exam comes, Shikamaru is surprised to find out that not only did Naruto's team pass, but so did team's ten and eight of Konoha, and Team Gai of their year. Hariko's cousin Neji is on team Gai, and hates Hariko's guts. Then again, Neji hates all main branch members.

The Gennin are told that because so many people passed, they're going to have to have a preliminary for the third exam. One guy, with silver hair and glasses, backs out. Other than that, all the passing teams stay put and the fights are started. The first fight is Sasuke Vs. another Konoha Gennin named Yoroi. Sasuke, despite clutching his neck in pain at one point, wins.

Soon, fight after fight goes on. Ino and Sakuno fight, with Sakuno easily winning. Ino is too focused on being a Sasuke fangirl to be a decent ninja. She starves herself, spends her mission money on pretty new clothes instead of new weapons, and spends more time on her hair and makeup than she does training.

Hariko fights a guy from Cloud, and wins his fight as well. The other guy assumed that, since Hariko is twelve while he's sixteen, it would be an easy win. Hariko is by no means a powerhouse, but he knows how to fight. By closing his opponents chakra pathways, he rendered the teen unable to use Jutsu and barely able to move. The guy ended up unconscious pretty easily. Anko focuses on speed, and she makes sure that her Gennin are as fast as they can go with their current bodies. The Cloud nin never saw it coming.

Shikamaru ends up facing off against a girl from the Sound Village. She tried to use bells attached to senbon to confuse and hurt him, but Shikamaru was one step ahead of her. As soon as he had her in his Shadow possession Jutsu, he pretended to throw weapons at her, causing her to throw some, since her pouch is on the side opposite to his. When he bent backwards to dodge, she did as well and ended up hitting her head against the wall hard enough to knock her out. It was a good strategy. It doesn't show off too many of his abilities, but gets the job done.

Once the fights are done, the Gennin that will continue on pick numbers, and thus opponents for the third exam.

Uzumaki Naruto Vs. Hyuuga Neji

Uchiha Sasuke Vs. Sabaku no Gaara

Aburame Shino Vs. Kankuro

Nara Shikamaru Vs. Temari

Hyuuga Hariko Vs. Dosu

Haruno Sakuno Vs. Rinko

It will certainly be an interesting third section of the Chuunin Exams. The Gennin have one month to prepare, and prepare they shall.

* * *

**Authors Note part 2:** There's Chapter 9 done! This story is the longest I've ever written! All the chapters together in Microsoft Word take up 57 pages! My longest aside from this is a 27 page one that I think sucks and have no ideas for. Anyways, I'm working on the next chapter and it'll be posted within the next day or two. I'm writing and posting as many as I can right now because this time next week I won't have access to the internet since I'll be camping for four days. I'll post a few chapters when I get back from camping though! Anyways, next chapter is the month between the second and third exams! What sort of hellish training will Anko-sensei come up with for her boys? You'll have to wait and see!


	10. Chapter 10: Training

**Authors Note (IMPORTANT): **Hey everyone. I know this one is really short, but my ideas are dwindling. I know what I want to do in regards to the team when the new school year comes around, but I don't know how I want the exams or times between to go. This will be it until I look over the third exam period again and see what I can do about changing it to fit my needs. Should Shikamaru become a Chuunin? Or should his whole team? I'm really stumped and I can't update enough to get the team back to Hogwarts if I don't have ideas. Any and all ideas are welcome, even if you think they might be silly! You'll get credit in my Authors note, of course, for the chapter the idea is used in. I may not even use the whole idea, but mix it with parts of my own or others. Unfortunately this happens to me a lot. I get stuck then have no idea where to go for several weeks before inspration hits and suddenly I'm putting out pages like no tomorrow. So review or message me with ideas! I want to hear them all!

* * *

As soon as the preliminaries are over, the Gennin that need it are all healed by some on duty medics. Team Anko walks home together. Hariko is the first to branch off, waving goodbye as he heads into the Hyuuga compound. Shikamaru is the next to leave, leaving Sakuno to continue home alone. The pink haired Gennin lives with his parents and sister near the market place, since they're not part of a clan and thus can't get a home in the Clan district.

Team Anko meets up after a good nights rest and some home cooking. Much to Shikamaru's displeasure, they end up meeting quite early in the morning. Hariko, while not happy with the meeting time, isn't that grumpy because he's had a full nights sleep. Sakuno, as he always is first thing in the morning, is creepily perky.

"_Alright brats!_" Anko exclaims, perching on top of the small roof-like structure that a table was set up under to hand out the scrolls for the second exam. "_It's time to get training even more! Now, we've started on elemental affinities, but you three haven't been tested yet. We'll do that today, then we'll set about getting you some Jutsu for whatever your affinity is_. _I'm Fire natured, like quite a few of the ninja here in Fire Country, so I can help if any of you are that. I have the nature papers here._"

Each Gennin gets a slip of paper. Anko tells them they just have to push some Chakra into the paper and it will react differently depending on their Chakra nature. Sakuno goes first. His paper splits in half, with one half crumbling to dust.

"_Wind with a second nature of Earth_" Anko says with a grin. "_I once saw someone use earth jutsu to make some huge rocks, then use wind to help him throw them at people_"

Sakuno looks very excited about the idea of that.

"_Awesome! Next, next!_"

He urges Hariko to go next.

Hariko focuses some Chakra into the paper and one half gets soggy while the other half starts to crinkle.

"_Now I didn't expect that!_" Anko exclaims. "_Equal Water and Lightning! Normally, people don't get opposing natures like that. Well, you're a special kid, Hariko_"

Hariko blinks.

"_The Hyuuga clan rarely test for Chakra natures, but those that have usually find out that they have lightning nature along with equal ability in a different nature. Sometimes a nature that works well with lightning, other more rare times it's a conflicting nature. I suppose you could liken it to the Uchiha's, when they were alive. They all had at least some talent at Fire Jutsu, but they also each had another nature they could use. Most of them used lightning or earth, but I heard that Uchiha Itachi can use water just as well as fire_" Hariko says.

Shikamaru is the last to go. Because shadows are unique to his clan and are a sort of bloodline, it doesn't show on the chakra paper. What does show is that Shikamaru has water type Chakra with a slight more minor affinity for earth.

"_Alright, Maggots! Let's get to work!_" Anko exclaims.

The training is grueling and the Gennin return home covered in blood and dirt. Anko _really_ likes sharp things. If those sharp things explode too…well more fun for her.

One morning, a week into the month-long training period, Hariko comes to training with a smile on his face. He tells his friends that he finally got his father to see some sense in regards to Hinata, and that she's being allowed to find another style of Taijutsu that she can use in combination with the theory of the Gentle Fist. With some sweet talking by Hariko, an ANBU woman that Anko is on friendly terms with agrees to teach Hinata her style of Taijutsu.

Shikamaru, when he's not training with his team or spending time with his friends, can be found out behind his house watching the clouds or on the wrap-around porch playing Shogi against whoever will agree to a game. Most of these games are against his father or his fathers friend Sarutobi Asuma.

There's little time for fun and games, though, as Anko trains them from sunrise to sunset. She gives them several days off before the start of the third exam. It wouldn't do to be too tired to put their training to use.

The Gennin spend their free days in the hot springs, relaxing and resting.

The day of the third exam dawns bright and early, and all the participants except Sasuke are there on time. They stand in the stadium, listening to the cheers from the crowd. Shikamaru smirks a little. This will be interesting.

* * *

**Authors Note part 2:** It's so short. I'm sorry. I wish I could give you something more or something better. I need ideas desperately but unfortunately, my muse has disappeared. Usually, I get my ideas by talking with a friend of mine who's living and working in Japan, but he's been so busy lately that I haven't been able to talk to him. If anyone else is willing to make suggestions, I promise to take them into consideration! Even just a guest review with the idea in it is appreciated! I'd like to say thanks to "**unknown girl**" who left a guest review saying my story is amazing. I only wrote this much and updated for you! You, my dear, are the only one to review on the last chapter and encourage me to update, and for that I thank you. I hope to hear from you again, and I'm very glad you enjoy the story. I've enjoyed writing it so far.


	11. Chapter 11: The Chuunin Exam Finals

**Authors note: **Okay, so someone finally asked me to do something I had originally intended to do all along. PCheshire asked me to make this story Yaoi, which was my original idea. I write yaoi, that's my thing. I suck at writing hetero relationships. Plus, I think with the boys being Anko's students and likely to go into her field of work later on, that no girl could stand up to them unless she was a tough ninja. There's still the option for the story to be het, but if it is, the romance would likely be very much in the background because I do suck at writing it and frankly would prefer not to write it. If that bothers you, you might as well leave now because even if it is het, there will be at least one yaoi pairing in this story that will repeatedly be mentioned. possibly NarutoxSasuke, because I just love that pairing. Anyways, it's up for vote if anyone is interested. Message or review with your choice. Only one vote per person! By the way...HOLY ****! Last I checked, I had 78 followers, now I suddenly have 99! OMFG! Anyway, on to the story!

* * *

The Gennin all stand together, waiting for the first match participants to be called and the match to be started. It's briefly explained that Dosu was killed during the month of training, which is why no one brought up his absence. Instead of fighting him, then, Hariko will fight the winner of the Gaara Vs. Sasuke match.

The First match is Uzumaki Naruto Vs. Hyuuga Neji. Naruto's fight with Neji boarders on dramatic. Neji, being a fate obsessed idiot, lectures Naruto like he did Hinata in the prelims. He tells Naruto that failures remain failures and that it can't be changed. Eventually, though Neji seems to be winning in the beginning, Naruto wins through a mixture of a strange red Chakra he somehow accessed and his sheer determination to prove Neji wrong. He ends up changing Neji's outlook on life and fate.

The second match, which features Uchiha Sasuke versus Sabaku no Gaara, is moved to be the last, as Sasuke hasn't arrived yet. Normally Sasuke would have been disqualified on the spot, but his match has been looked forward to ever since it was announced. Some people only came to see him fight. This forces the Hokage to give in when the Kazekage requests the match just be temporarily delayed.

The Third match is Aburame Shino Vs. Kankuro, is given to Shino when Kankuro forfeits. A rather disappointing move, for those who wanted to see what the Aburame clan can do.

The Fourth Match is Nara Shikamaru Vs. Temari. While Temari shows herself to be intelligent, she's no where near Shikamaru's level.

"_Troublesome_" Shikamaru mutters, shoving his hands in his pockets as he slowly walks down the stairs to the arena.

The Nara stands across from the blond Sand ninja, looking as lazy as usual.

"_I guess I can't forfeit_" Shikamaru says, glancing up to the stands. "_Anko-sensei would skin me alive then feed me to her snakes_"

"_Brat! You're going to fight me just because your sensei would be angry if you didn't?!_" Temari rages.

"_Well, yeah. It's not like I don't have the skill to become a Chuunin, I'm just lazy. These matches are to test not only our physical abilities, but they also test our mental abilities. Do we know our limits? Can we tell when it's time to make a strategic retreat?_" Shikamaru muses.

The proctor for this exam begins the match, and Shikamaru dodges a gust of wind from Temari's fan. Shikamaru sets off a smoke bomb and then leaps into a tree near the edge of the arena. The smoke is blown away just as soon as he's hidden.

This angers Temari, who starts sending wind jutsu in all directions.

Shikamaru takes a moment to observe the arena and come up with a plan. Once he has one, he nods to himself.

Shikamaru pulls out a kunai with an explosive tag attached. He'll have one shot before his hiding spot is compromised, and he needs to make it count.

Taking aim, Shikamaru lets the kunai fly towards the girl. It lands harmlessly a foot in front of her, though her eyes widen as it blows up. Temari is thrown backwards and Shikamaru takes his chance to move. He gets as close as he can before she starts getting up, before he makes a few hand signs and allows his shadow to shoot out towards Temari.

It makes contact with her shadow just as she stands up, clutching her arm in pain. Shikamaru was using one of Anko's homemade explosive tags, which are more powerful than the average tag. Thanks to Shikamaru's Shadow Possession Jutsu, Temari is stuck.

He smirks at Temari as the dust from the explosion settles, and moves his hands to rest in his pockets. Temari mirrors his actions, though she has no pockets.

The Suna kunoichi is glaring daggers at him, wishing she could pick up her dropped fan and hit him with it.

Shikamaru smirks and reaches into one of two hip pouches he wears. He has one on each side so he can reach into the one on the side opposite to his opponents for whatever he needs, leaving them grasping at thin air.

The Nara clan heir pulls out three circular objects which resemble smoke bombs, though they're more of a sandy brown colour. He then tosses them at Temari, who's hand follows the movement, even though she has nothing in her hand. This is similar to the move he did on Kin during the preliminaries.

The round objects explode as soon as they hit the ground, knocking Temari out cold and singeing her skin.

Shikamaru is declared the winner.

The Fifth match was to be Hariko Vs. Dosu, but Dosu's body was found dead several weeks ago and so Hari will be fighting whoever ends up winning the Gaara Vs. Sasuke match.

The Sixth match is Haruno Sakuno Vs. Rinko.

Sakuno glances around the arena, taking it in from a participants perspective. You can only get a true feeling for the size of the battle arena when you're standing in it, after all. The small competitors box only gives a view from higher up.

As soon as the battle starts, Sakuno is running at Rinko using his full speed. He's not quite as fast as the villages Taijutsu specialist Gai, or Gai's student Lee, but he's still faster than most Gennin.

The pink haired boy gathers Chakra into his fist and punches Rinko in the gut, sending her flying backwards. She seemed to freeze when she saw him running at her, and it gave him an opening.

Sakuno uses Chakra to make himself run faster for a moment, allowing him to make it to the arena wall within seconds and run around the circular edge. Once he's in line with the still air-born Rinko, Sakuno pushes off from the wall as hard as he can and slams a foot into her back, using his momentum to spin them both in mid air so Rinko slams into the ground and he lands on his feet.

The boy jumps backwards a few meters, allowing Rinko time to get to her feet. Blood trickles from her mouth, and Sakuno smirks to himself.

"_For a Rookie, you're pretty good. You'd have to be to contort your body during my attack so you would have the least damage done. But you're not good enough. Anko-sensei wouldn't forgive me if I lost to a rookie like you_" Sakuno says.

The pink haired boy makes some hand signs and suddenly, Rinko is looking around wildly.

"_Where did you go?!_" She asks, pulling out a Kunai.

"_She's under a Genjutsu_" Sakuno tells the silent audience and proctor. "_As far as she knows, I suddenly disappeared. Her senses are dulled, and it's unlikely she'll be able to break the Genjutsu on her own. The only way she would be able to would be if she knew how do disrupt her own Chakra or her sensei did rigorous Genjutsu training with her so she could recognise a subtle Genjutsu like this_"

Sakuno calmly walks over to the tense girl, and puts a kunai to her throat before releasing the genjutsu. Rinko stiffens when she realises what happened. "Match won by Sakuno!" The proctor calls out. The crowd cheers.

Sakuno heads up to wait with the other participants in the competitors box. Shikamaru and Hariko approach.

"You're lucky you got an opponent that you're strong against" Shikamaru says in English, so the other Gennin can't understand them.

Sakuno snorts. "I know. My skills are Medical Jutsu and Taijutsu, with some Genjutsu casting because of my great Chakra control. I suck at regular ninjutsu and I'm terrible with dispelling Genjutsu."

Gaara versus Sasuke comes around again. This is the battle that the crowd has been looking forward to.

Sasuke arrives right on time as the match is about to begin. Sasuke demonstrates that his speed has vastly increased, to the point where the sand guarding Gaara can't keep up. Sasuke also reveals his Chidori, a Jutsu he learned from his sensei Kakashi and Kakashi's only original Jutsu, which he uses to injure Gaara. Before the match can finish, however, a smoke bomb is set off in the Kage's box.

A ninja who is secretly working for Orochimaru uses a genjutsu to put almost everybody in the crowd to sleep.

The Invasion of Konoha commences.

The battle is long and hard, and the losses great. The Third Hokage is killed in battle, and Naruto is sent off with a man named Jiraiya to find their new Hokage.

They return three weeks later with the woman, Senju Tsunade, and her apprentice (Plus a pearl wearing pig). As soon as Tsunade's officially Hokage, Shikamaru and his team approach her about the continuation of their mission at Hogwarts.

The woman looks at how much they'll be getting paid, and agrees right away. They're back in England and buying their supplies within two days.

Before they leave, however, Shikamaru and Sakuno are promoted to Chuunin. Tsunade says that though the Jounin and judges who witnessed the battle think Hariko should be able to be a Chuunin as well, he never actually fought in the third section of the Chuunin exam and thus isn't able to be promoted. To gain a promotion in Konoha, if not through the Chuunin Exam, then you have to have the recommendation of two Chuunin who have been on at least five missions with you, and one Jounin who has been on ten missions with you. It's an old rule that not many remember, but since it was used for the promotion of Tsunade's dead lover Dan, she knows of that particular one quite well. The next exam takes place in January and will be held in Amegakure, should Hariko want to participate in it.

Tsunade also gives Anko permission to accept D and C rank missions from within Hogwarts for her team, so Hariko may have the chance of becoming a Chuunin by Christmas, assuming they can hire themselves out without revealing that they're ninja. Perhaps the staff members, who know they're ninja, would be willing to offer a few missions?

The man that will hold this years mission contract is Professor Snape, who Tsunade asks to test other Gennin for magial ability.

Team Gai, consisting of Rock Lee, Tenten, and Hyuuga Neji, will be joining Team Anko at Hogwarts it seems. They'll be attending as "transfer" students, to explain why they're starting their second year.

* * *

Hope you guys liked this chapter. It took me a while to write because our internet has been acting up. We just switched providers yesterday, so I really haven't been able to access the pages I use for research regarding attacks and stuff. I also apologize for Shika's fight being so suckish. I'm not that great at fight scenes unless I have videos of the attacks the characters are using to go off of. I need a visual to describe the attacks, and my only visual was a Naruto Shippuden video game because the internet has been gone for several days. I actually had to go to a friends to post the previous chapter. This will probably be my next update until the 17 or 18th, because I'm going camping on the 14th and I don't know if I'll have the next chapter fully written before I leave. I love all my readers, and I hope you'll vote for het or yaoi. But please, truly consider yaoi. That's the only way you're getting any decent shika-lovin out of me. My Het writing sucks. I can't make girls seem believable as characters unless I'm copying directly from a book/show.


	12. Chapter 12: Team Gai

**Authors Note: **Alright, here's chapter 12! I really didn't think I'd ever get this far or get as many great responses as I have! Now, I know this chapter is a little short, but that's mostly because the muse that usually helps me formulate my ideas has been crushed by a large falling object like the coyote from Loony Toons gets in nearly every episode he's in. Now, until my muse re-inflates himself in the recesses of my mind, I'll be working on this with little to no inspiration, so it may take some time for the next chapter to come out. Any ideas are welcome, as always. I own nothing, and Reviews will help Muse-kun re-inflate. Thanks to all my readers who've given me support throughout the course of this story! I love you all!

The Poll for couples is open on my page. I'll have it open until about chapter twenty, so get voting people! Please select one couple vote for Shikamaru, one for Hariko and one for Sakuno!

* * *

The ninja step onto the Hogwarts express.

Another school year has come and Team Anko looks forward to learning more magic, even if they are rather ahead of their classmates.

"_Follow us. If we get a compartment around the middle of the train, we shouldn't have too much trouble_" Shikamaru says. "_The Slytherins have confiscated the middle train cars, and others usually leave them alone_"

The six ninja find a compartment and settle in together.

Hariko and Sakuno sit with Neji on one bench, while Shikamaru shares a bench with Tenten and Lee.

Shikamaru leans against the window and takes a nap.

Tenten pokes Shika when he lets out a soft snore.

"_Don't mind him_" Sakuno says. "_He's usually like that. Shika's really lazy. I know the Nara males are all known for at least being somewhat lazy, but Shika's the laziest of them all_"

"_How does he sleep at night when he sleeps during the day?_" Tenten asks.

"_He sleeps quite well, actually. How he does it, we don't know. But he manages_" Hariko pipes up.

The pale eyed main family member looks to his branch family cousin.

"_Would you help me with my Hyuuga training? Anko-sensei can't teach it, and father just spars with me. I've been trying to learn Kaiten, but my timing seems a bit off_" Hariko says.

"_I'll do my best_" Neji replies.

"_That's all anyone can ever ask of someone_" Hariko says with a small smile.

Once at the school, Team Gai goes off to meet up with the first years for the sorting while Team Anko heads into the Great Hall and sits at the Ravenclaw table.

"Welcome back to a new year at Hogwarts!" Dumbledore says from his position at the staff table. "This year, we're happy to welcome three exchange students from Japan's small magical school. They will be sorted before the first years, thank you"

He sits down, and the First years file into the hall behind professor McGonagall. Team Gai is at the front of the crowd, standing taller than the other new students.

"Hyuuga, Neji" McGonagall calls.

Several students, most from Ravenclaw, look between Neji and Hariko. The similar eyes give away the family connection.

Neji strides up and allows the hat to be placed on his head. People comment and whisper about why he's wearing a piece of cloth tied around his forehead.

The sorting hat chuckles.

"RAVENCLAW!"

Neji walks over to the Ravenclaw table, sitting next to his cousin.

"Lee, Rock"

Shikamaru raises an eyebrow as the mini-Gai skips forward happily.

"I wasn't aware that Lee is his surname" the shadow user says quietly.

"_It isn't_" Neji replies in Japanese. "_Rock Lee is his first name, but it's often shortened to Lee. They needed a surname, so 'Lee' was chosen to be said surname_"

"Ah" Shikamaru nods.

"_Does that mean we have to call him Rock_?" Sakuno asks.

"No, now listen to the hat. It seems to have decided on Lee's house" Neji replies.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"Well, That wasn't unusual in any way" Shikamaru sighs. "Lee's part Gryffindor, part Hufflepuff."

"Ryu, Tenten"

"_Before you ask, it's because she has no surname. She took the 'Ryu' bit from her Rising Twin Dragons jutsu. It was that, or become Lee's sister_" Neji explains.

"_Well that explains a lot_" Shikamaru says, resting his head on his arms.

The hat is placed on Tenten's head and nearly right away it shouts out, "Gryffindor!"

"Well it was that or Hufflepuff. Despite how much she denies it, she and Lee are rather similar" Neji comments.

"You know the other two transfers?" One of the Ravenclaw girls, a third year, asks.

"Yes. Back in our old school, we're divided into what they call 'teams' of three. Each team has skills that balance each other, and will work together until they move up to the next level of schooling. Lee and Tenten are my teammates, just as Shikamaru, Hariko and Sakuno were teammates before they decided to come here last year" Neji explains.

"You mean your last school didn't start at eleven?" A seventh year asks.

"No. In fact, only the schools in Europe start at eleven. All the others start around eight" Shikamaru says, gaining nods from the other ninja.

"Truthfully, the headmaster is lying when he says that Hogwarts is one of the best schools in the wizarding world. In terms of the quality of the Education, Hogwarts is sub-par. The best full on wizarding school in the world is the one in China." Sakuno says as he balances his fork on his fingertip.

Tenten is suddenly hiding behind Neji. No one but the ninja know how she got over to him so fast.

"He's started it again, Neji! He's doing the 'power of youth' rant!" Tenten says. "He's frightening the other students!"

Neji sighs. "Excuse me while I go beat some sense into Lee" He stands up and heads over to the Gryffindor table, where he whacks Lee over the back of the head.

"You're scaring people" Neji scolds the Taijutsu user.

"Oh, my apologies, Neji!" Lee exclaims. "I did not mean to frighten the youthful students!"

Tenten is soon reluctantly heading back to the Gryffindor table.

The first years are sorted, and soon enough everyone is heading to their respective common rooms.

As the Ravenclaws pass the Gryffindors, Neji says to Tenten for all to hear, "If Lee starts anything, come find me, no matter if it's class or not."

Tenten sighs in relief. "Thanks Neji. He can be a real handful at times"

Neji sighs as well. "I know. If you can't find me, find Hariko. He can do a pretty good impression of me and could probably get Lee back to…well somewhat normal. And make sure he goes outside for his morning workout. We don't need him bothering anyone inside the castle. If you can't find Hariko or I, Shikamaru or Sakuno will do"

Sakuno puffs up.

"Hey! I can get Lee to calm down right away!" He says.

"The last time you tried that, he almost ended up loosing the bit between his legs" Neji sends a glare at Sakuno, who turns pink.

"Okay, so my aim was a bit off that day! But in my defence I'd just gone through Anko-sensei's hell-training! Even Lee would be tired after that!" Sakuno pouts.

"Leave it, Sakuno" Shikamaru says with a groan. "Let's just go to the common room. I want to sleep"

"Lazy bum" Hariko mutters.

Shikamaru raises an eyebrow. "I've always been lazy"

"Yeah, but you've been even lazier since that disastrous Exam back home" Sakuno points out.

"Saku's got a point" Hariko says. "It's been ages since you did anything other than sleep unless you absolutely had to"

"Meh" Shikamaru shrugs. "I'm recovering. I used up a lot of energy during the aftermath of the Exam"

"So he says" Neji and Hariko grumble together.

"Anyways, let's head up to the Tower. See you in the morning, Tenten. Say goodnight to Lee for us" Shikamaru says.

"Will do, Shikamaru! See you bright and early!"

Shikamaru groans again.

"I don't want to get up early!"


	13. Chapter 13: Pipes

**Authors Note**: Alright everyone! Here's the long-awaited Chapter Thirteen! Sorry it's taken me so long to write it, but here it is! The first half of the chapter, give or take a little, is mostly just filler bits. If I just focused on the important events of the books, I'd be done their second year in three or four chapters. I also want to show a side to them that may not be seen all the time. I want to show that they're children too, and that they don't just do missions. If you want more information on the card game mentioned, it's all on Wikipedia. I've never played the game but I've watched some Japanese friends of mine play, and I thought it would be interesting to include.**_  
_**

* * *

As it turns out, Shikamaru is forced to wake up early.

The boys in the Second Year Ravenclaw boys dorm won't speak of what woke Shikamaru, but they will shudder when they see knives and large amounts of water in the same area.

Sakuno and Hariko, on the other hand, have smug smiles on their faces when they show up to breakfast with the other ninja.

Shikamaru flops into a seat at the Ravenclaw table, Sakuno beside him. The Hyuuga cousins sit across from them.

Ever since Neji was defeated by Naruto, he's tried to bridge the gap between himself and his main branch cousins. He even offered Hinata some tips once, even though he nearly killed her during the Chuunin exam prelims.

Shikamaru reaches for a piece of toast, ignoring the looks he's getting from his housemates.

"Er, Nara, are you covered in blood?" A fifth year prefect asks.

"Yeah" The lazy ninja replies. "Then again, it's not like it's my blood"

"Then who's blood is it?" a sixth year girl asks.

"Let's just say the forest is missing an Acromantula" Neji says, since Shikamaru is busy eating his toast.

"Only Hariko and Sakuno can get away with waking me up" Shikamaru mutters after swallowing the toast that was in his mouth.

"NO! LEE!" they hear Tenten shout from the Gryffindor table.

Sakuno's hand whips out and he throws a hidden kunai at Lee. The Kunai smashes through the glass of ale Seamus Finnigan tried to give him.

The kunai bounces off the wall and falls to the floor, the tip bent from hitting the stone.

The Ravenclaw ninja's head over to the Gryffindor table.

"You really don't want to give Lee anything with alcohol. Even just a drop makes him dangerous to everyone around him. He attacks anyone within sight, friend or foe" Neji says.

Tenten nods in agreement.

"How do you know that?" Seamus demands. "He's our housemate!"

"I've known Lee longer than you have" Neji glares at the Irish boy. "And I'll probably always know him better than you will. Come on, Lee. You have Herbology with us first"

"Right!" Lee jumps to his feet. "Let us be off, my youthful friends!"

The 'youthful' Gennin skips off, Tenten and Neji slowly following behind him.

Sakuno picks up his Kunai.

"My precious kunai" He whimpers. "What did that nasty wall do to you?!"

"And he's gone" Shikamaru comments as Sakuno starts cooing at his kunai.

The boy shares Anko's love of sharp things, so when they get dull or damaged, he gets all worried.

"Let's get going, I don't want to be late on the first day" Hariko says, grabbing Sakuno's arm.

Classes are boring, though it turns out that Lee is a real wiz when it comes to remembering and performing anything to do with Magic.

"_Have I ever mentioned how much I hate magic classes?_" Shikamaru grumbles.

"_Multiple times_" Sakuno replies as he shuffles a deck of cards at lunch.

"_Sakuno, hurry up and deal the cards!_" Tenten complains.

She and Lee have joined the others at the Ravenclaw table for a good old game of Hanafuda Koi-Koi. Koi-Koi is a Japanese card game played with special Japanese playing cards (called Hanafuda) that have months and flowers instead of the usual numbers and suits westerners are more familiar with. These cards are used to play Japanese card games that involve numbers(and, often times, gambling).

The Ravenclaws watch curiously as the game is played.

"HA!" Sakuno grins. "InoShikaCho!" He shows off the 10-point cards from the Clover, Maple, and Peony flower groupings.

Shikamaru curses in Japanese. "Why are we playing this game? It's so troublesome to have the name of your fathers Auror team in a card game"

"Suck it up, Shika" Hariko says, placing a card on the table for his game with Neji.

Koi-Koi is easiest to play with two people, an was designed to be played as such. More than that and things get confusing. So they'll be having several matches. Hariko Vs. Neji, Tenten Vs. Lee, Shikamaru Vs. Sakuno. The winners of the Hariko-Neji game and the Shikamaru-Sakuno game will face off, and the winner of that game will face the winner of Tenten vs. Lee.

"We should have gotten Anko-sensei and Gai-sensei to play with us" Tenten comments, drawing a card from the pile next to her. "Then we would have four winners instead of three, so we could have two proper matches that would lead to a single final match."

Hariko looks to the staff table, where Anko is sitting next to Gai with a determined look on her face.

"I don't think that will be a problem. They're playing Koi-Koi as well up at the staff table" He says.

Shikamaru sets some cards into his points pile.

"Aotan" he says, naming the grouping he was able to match up to get points.

Sakuno pouts. "Now we're tied for points!"

Soon enough, it's the end of lunch. The games will have to be continued at dinner. The Gennin and two Chuunin head to class for the afternoon after getting a promise from Anko to take part in the next round of their card game tournament.

As they head back to the great hall for dinner, Shikamaru pauses.

"Do you hear that?" he asks.

The others all listen closely.

"It sounds like hissing pipes" Tenten says.

"That's no pipe hissing" Shikamaru presses an ear to the wall, listening closely to the hissing on the other side.

"What's it saying?" Sakuno asks.

"Come, come to me. Let me rip you…let me tear you" Shikamaru repeats what he hears in the wall.

"It's a snake, then" Hariko says. "What I wouldn't give for my Byakuugan to work this deep into the castle. I'll need to step up my training. Neji, you and I will be working on using your Byakuugan around magic. It's pretty bright, so I don't suggest doing it too close to the castle quite yet"

"It has to be a very large snake for us to be able to hear the hissing through both pipes and stone." Lee says.

"Exactly. We're talking the size of one off Anko-sensei's summons, here" Shikamaru mumbles.

"Has she let one out recently?" Tenten asks as they continue towards the hall.

"No, she hasn't. She knows the wizards have a thing against snakes, so she's kept her summons to small ones that would seem natural in this area." The Nara heir says.

"How did you know what it's saying, Nara?" Neji asks.

"I can talk to snakes in the snake-language" Shikamaru says. "I don't usually pay much attention to them. It's only summons and magical snakes that make sense with their hissing. Non-magical snakes mostly just say jumbled things. 'food, food. Sleep. Kill. Big danger' stuff like that."

"So it's either a rogue summon or a magical snake" Neji surmises.

"Most likely magical. We can only wait, though. See what it does and keep our senses alert for any chance of it attacking someone. Maybe we should send one of sensei's summons to see what's going on" Shikamaru's brain starts working in overdrive.

When they report to Anko about the snake, she grumbles. A snake about four feet long is summoned and sent into the pipes to find out what the snake is doing in the castle. Now they just need to wait for it's report. Considering the size of the castle, it could be days, perhaps even more than a week, before they hear from the summon snake again.

By the end of the first week of school, the students have realized they have another quack for a DADA teacher. On Friday, he hosts a Dueling Club with Professor Snape, though he makes a fool of himself within the first few minutes by challenging Snape to a duel which he looses after just one first year level spell from the Potions professor.

"Now, onto our first student duel!" The blond monstrosity that is Professor Lockhart exclaims. "How about…Nara and Hyuuga?" He stumbles over the foreign names miserably.

"Perhaps we should divide this between the houses?" Snape suggests. "Allow Mr. Malfoy to duel with Mr. Nara"

Shikamaru glances at the blond Slytherin, then at Hariko.

"Sorry, Hari. Seems you're out of luck today" He says.

Hariko shrugs. "I'd rather not have my innards splattered across the platform, thank you. I'll leave the bleeding and crying to Malfoy"

"Oi! I'm not that bad!" Shikamaru protests.

"Shika, you're a lazy guy. When it comes to duels, you hit hard and fast so you can go back to being lazy. The last wizard you dueled is still in St. Mungo's from you chopping his man-bits off" Sakuno snorts.

"He insulted my mother" Shikamaru grumbles. "No one insults my family and lives without regretting it"

"This is why we shouldn't let him join Dueling competitions" Hariko says to Sakuno. "We leave him alone for ten minutes in Diagon Alley and suddenly he's had the underaged magic restriction removed and he's participating in a Dueling tournament. All he did was fall asleep!"

Neji sighs. "You must realize that no matter where he goes or where he's living, he's still the trouble-prone Shikamaru we've known since childhood. He's very lazy, but trouble somehow finds him"

Hariko sighs and nods. "Like that time he was almost swallowed whole by a giant snake during training back home"

"Or that time the ANBU thought he was the one to turn all their uniforms pink and replace their animal masks with flower masks so they chased him all through the village for nearly a full day" Sakuno pipes up.

"That was you running from the ANBU?" Tenten asks. "I thought it was that Naruto kid the year below us that likes pranks"

"He was the one to pull the prank. I was the one to get blamed" Shikamaru says. "I'm surprised I even managed to get away from the ANBU. They're our villages version of the Unspeakables, after all"

"Mr. Nara, stop having your friends stall for you and get up on the platform" Professor Snape says sternly.

Shikamaru sighs.

Well, he tried.

* * *

**Authors Note part 2:** Well, that's it for this chapter. As I stated at the beginning, there's more info on Wikipedia about Hanafuda Koi-Koi. Please review if you have any suggestions or comments. If you have a suggestion for how I can improve my writing, feel free to PM or leave it in a review. I'm always happy to hear what people think of my writing.

I'll tell you this now, but the stuff about the Dueling Tournament Shikamaru somehow found himself entered into is actually true and a very minor part of the story that probably won't come up again. It happened while he was getting supplies in Diagon Alley, which I didn't write about. If enough people want me to write a oneshot or Omake about it, I'd be happy to do that. Or someone else could write it, as long as they get my permission first. So review and be happy people! Another chapter will be out within the next few days!

_**The poll for pairings is up on my page and ready for voters! Please vote once for a Shika pairing, once for a Hariko pairing and once for a Sakuno pairing! Both yaoi and Het are included in the Poll. So far the results are as**_ **_follows:_**

ShikamaruxLee - 1

HarikoxIruka - 1

SakunoxNeji - 1

Only one person's voted so far, and they voted for the above pairings. The more people vote, the more likely there will be a varied answer for the pairings. To anyone worried that a yaoi pairing means that the boys can't have kids, I say that's not an issue. The ritual/jutsu used to adopt Shikamaru can be used with two men as parents, so you don't need to worry about the clan lines continuing. Whether it's yaoi or het, it will continue.

_**DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT VOTE IN A REVIEW! THERE IS A POLL ON MY PROFILE PAGE FOR COUPLES! VOTES CAST IN REVIEWS WILL BE IGNORED AND NOT COUNTED! I WILL NOT BE ADDING MORE COUPLES TO THE LIST! ALL THAT IS THERE IS FINAL! IT'S ONE OF THEM OR NONE OF THEM!  
**_


	14. Chapter 14: News from Konoha

_**Authors Note**__: Okay, I know most people don't read these things, but PLEASE PEOPLE! Stop sending messages or reviewing with pairings! I have a poll up on my profile page, so use that please. I'd rather not get my hopes up for a review, just to find out that someone wants to tell me the pairing they want. _

_On a higher note, Chapter fourteen! YAY! This story, somehow, has managed to get 176 followers by this point and 161 favorites! This is my record for a story. I aim for 200 followers by Chapter 16, hehe. Anyways, Sorry for the long wait, I was done this chapter nearly a week ago but I caught the Flu and couldn't even sit up without it hurting, so I couldn't post. If my family members weren't so computer-illiterate, I would have had one of them post it for me. Unfortunately, I'm really the only one who knows how to do more than send emails, and even that confuses them! So here's the long-awated chapter. It's half plot, half random stuff that fills space and updates our favorite ninja on how things are going back home. Mostly because I had nothing else to write without skipping several days or weeks in the story._

_Enjoy and remember to REVIEW! POLL FOR PAIRINGS CLOSES ON OCTOBER 31st 2013!  
_

* * *

The moment the duel begins, Malfoy goes against the rules of the duel and summons a snake.

Shikamaru just raises an eyebrow. Weren't they supposed to be secret allies? It seems the boy's in need of a reminder later. He'll set Sakuno and Hariko on the troublesome brat later.

Having become used to switching between Parseltongue and Japanese, it's not that hard to speak English instead of the snake language. Even when speaking English to them, magical snakes like those summoned from wands always know when someone can speak the snake tongue. They don't necessarily always know what the feeling means, but by this snake's hissing, it does.

"Come on, snake. I know the perfect person to give you to." Shikamaru scoops the six foot long python up into his arms before flicking his wand at Draco, who's wand is blasted away from him as he's sent falling onto his rear end.

"That ends the duel, and I'm keeping the snake as payment for you going against the set rules of the Duel." Shikamaru says. He hops off the platform. "Think Anko-sensei would like a new snake?"

"Of course, Shika" Sakuno snorts. "Snake's are her true love"

Hariko grimaces. "That's Ibiki-san. I believe you mean snakes are her 'Fetish'"

"Hariko…how do you know that word?" Neji asks slowly.

"Hm? Oh, I heard father mumbling about finding out that he has something called an 'S&M Fetish', so I went to look up what it meant in a dictionary. It didn't have anything on 'S&M' but it told me what Fetish means"

Neji looks like he's very creeped out. "He actually said he has one of those?"

"Yes. Do you know what 'S&M' means, Neji?" Hariko asks.

When it comes to anything to do with reproduction or, as Hariko put it, 'Fetishes', the Hyuuga heir is very clueless.

"Er, no?" Neji coughs. "Different subject, please"

"I'm going to find Anko-sensei" Shikamaru walks off.

"Wait for me, my youthful friend!" Lee bounds after the Chuunin.

Sakuno sighs. "Slow down guys!" he hurries after the other two.

"Why do I get the feeling that Shikamaru is about to have his face squished into Anko-sensei's breasts?" Tenten asks.

"Because he is" Hariko replies, turning to look at his cousin once more. "Tell me what 'S&M' means, Neji"

The Branch family member coughs. "I'm afraid I don't know. Now, we should follow Nara to make sure he doesn't get killed by your sensei's chest"

The three remaining ninja follow the three that are in search for Anko, whom they find before even leaving the Great Hall. The six ninja stop as the purple haired Jounin walks into the hall with Gai.

Anko's eyes zero in on the snake Shikamaru's holding.

"Aw! Who's a cute widdle baby snake?" Anko coos, taking the snake into her arms and cuddling it. "I'm going to cuddle you, and snuggle you, and call you Shou!"

"Isn't that one of this years most popular names to name your child back in the village?" Tenten asks Shikamaru, who nods.

"It is" The shadow user says. "It ranked first this year along with Kakeru"

"Why does our village even do polls like that?" Sakuno asks. "It just doesn't make sense. Most of the people who vote don't have kids!"

"That's life, Saku" Shikamaru sighs. "Troublesome as hell"

"Anyways, let's get out of here" Neji says. "Before Lockhart, the idiot, decides another of us should head up for a demonstration. We should have never even come to this stupid dueling club"

"I hate to interrupt." Gai speaks up. "But we have some important business to discuss" His face is oddly serious for once.

"What's up, Gai-sensei?" Tenten asks.

"I've been asked to inform you that Sasuke Uchiha has gone Rogue. He's defected from the village and has been named a missing-nin."

"The council agreed to that?" Shikamaru asks curiously.

"They did once they heard he nearly killed several clan heirs in his escape. They would rather sacrifice one clan than several others. The clan heads decided that if the Uchiha isn't declared a missing nin, they'll leave the village and start their own." Gai explains.

Shikamaru sighs, but nods in understanding as he shoves his hands in his pockets.

"Troublesome" the lazy Chuunin mumbles.

"What are you talking about, Shikamaru? How's it troublesome that the Council actually made the right choice for once?" Tenten asks.

Shikamaru shifts his weight to his left foot, looking up at the cloudy great hall ceiling as he starts speaking, "The Village Council likely thought that Uchiha would die soon, seeing as he's just our age and really nothing too special once you take a close look at him. He's just a Gennin with an attitude problem that has higher than normal skill levels, though they're not as amazing as his fangirls make them seem. The Council probably decided that since Uchiha's likely to get himself killed within the year out there on his own, that it would be safer to cater to the remaining village clans. With the last Uchiha gone from the village, that leaves the Hyuuga as the most powerful clan in the village. Other clans will be trying to get a step up while they can, too."

Team Gai stares slack-jawed at Shikamaru.

"What?" Shikamaru raises an eyebrow.

"When did you get so smart?" Tenten asks.

"How many times are we going to have to tell people Shika's a genius?" Sakuno asks.

Hariko shrugs. "As many times as it takes, I suppose"

Shikamaru looks to Anko. "I think I'll write to my dad to get him to make a few political moves. Shimmy on up there to sit with the Hyuuga, if possible. Under normal circumstances, we wouldn't bother, but dad's smart enough to know that on the off chance that Uchiha does survive and make it to Orochimaru, it'll probably bring war to the Nation. Uchiha's deranged enough from what I've seen of him that he'd likely gather up some like-minded people once he thinks he's strong enough, and go after his brother. That in itself isn't too bad, it's what he may find out from his brother that bothers me"

"Find out from his brother?" Anko asks. "What've you heard, brat?"

"Dad and the Hokage like to play Shogi together, and the Hokage often comes over to do it. A few weeks after the Uchiha massacre, I overheard them talking about how the Council went behind the Hokage's back to order it, or something like that. I don't remember in great detail, but I do know that Itachi Uchiha was ordered by someone to kill his clan. If Itachi really was ordered, it was likely one of the Council members or Elders. That would prompt Uchiha into attacking the village, were he to find out. The kids got issues" Shikamaru says, speaking the information like he's giving a report.

"So what do we do?" Tenten asks.

"We do what others are doing, we wait. We wait, and have our families try to get as much influence as possible, be it through family members or friends. The Akimichi and the Yamanaka will stick by my clan, and if Hari has a few words with his father, I'm sure the Hyuuga will be on board too. The more influence we have on the Council, the better. With a majority vote, Council members can vote off other members. Our clans and families, if they work together, could get all the Civilians who have nothing to do with ninja life off the council. The Council is there to make decisions regarding ninja. What to orphanage matrons have to do with ninja, other than the rare child going from the orphanage to the academy? Why would fruit stall owners and merchants like the Haruno's have positions on a **Ninja** Council? The Hokage may not want to see it, being the peace-loving man he is, but there's corruption in our village. So far, it's taken out a whole clan other than two members, both of whom are now missing-nin. Who's to say one of the other clans isn't next? For all we know, they could be plotting to take over the village and get rid of all ninja. We need to act before whatever their plan is completely ruins Konoha" Shikamaru says.

"See, this is why he became a Chuunin" Anko says to Gai. "You wanted to know why he became a Chuunin and your Hyuuga didn't? There's the reason. The brat's a leader, no mater how lazy he is. He's meant to lead. He'll probably become a Jounin the first time he tries for the promotion. He's a lazy one, but he's got what it takes to go far. It just adds to the fact that he's as sharp as a kunai. Kid's got a brain and knows how to use it"

Shikamaru sighs. "I can hear you, you know"

Anko grins wildly. "I know!"

"Why do we put up with such a troublesome woman?" Shikamaru asks Sakuno and Hariko.

"Perhaps it's the free weapons?" Hariko suggests.

"Or the fact that we scare people when we mention she's our sensei?" Sakuno adds.

The three sigh.

"Aw, brats!" Anko pulls her students into a group hug, which squishes Shikamaru's face between her breasts.

When they're finally let go for air, Shikamaru's face has a slightly blue tint to it.

"Nearly suffocated you again?" Hariko asks, patting Shikamaru on the arm.

"Troublesome" Shika mumbles.

"Gai-sensei, who were the heirs that were nearly killed?" Neji asks.

"Hyuuga Hinata, Akimichi Chouji, Aburame Shino, Yamanaka Ino and Inuzuka Kiba. Several other Gennin were nearly killed, but they weren't clan heirs." Gai replies.

Hariko looks worried. "Is Hina-chan alright?" He asks.

"I already got a message from the Hokage, brat. Your sister will be fine. She's going to need to take it easy for the next month or so, but she should recover fully" Anko says.

Hariko sighs in relief. "That's good"

"Come on, Hari. Let's make a get well soon card for your twin!" Sakuno exclaims. "We can all sign it, and send her some magical candies or something to cheer her up! I think some Fizzing Whizbees will cheer her up! Who doesn't want to float around for a while?"

Hariko smiles softly. "That sounds like a good idea. I think Hina-chan would like that"

It makes Hariko feel all warm and fuzzy when his friends are kind like this. It reminds him that even if his Clan is made up of cold-hearted idiots that need a good smack to the back of the head, at least he has a surrogate family that loves him for who he is.

Shikamaru drapes an arm over Hariko's shoulders. "Let's go work in the library. Madam Pince will probably know where to find a book that has interesting spells to put on the card to make it sing or something"

The group head off to the Library, their sensei's following close behind.

* * *

_**Authors note part 2: **__So poor Hina-chan's in hospital and Hari's worried for his precious twin. Sasuke's a missing-nin and the Clans have finally gotten their heads out of their rear ends and started doing something about the idiotic civilians that are members of a ninja council. Even I think this is getting interesting! lol. _

_Reviews will be much appreciated, and Flames will be used to set fire to Lockhart's books, paintings and possibly his hair! Till next time, dear readers! Remember, the poll on my profile for pairings closes on Halloween of 2013, so VOTE BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE!  
_


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